Herring Fishery

[Cookie's Cutter]

In BC fish meal is produced from "left overs" from fish processing. So frames from filleted fish, guts, heads, fins etc from processing, salmon farm fish guts and the list goes on. Fish plants have to usually pay to get rid of their waste that goes to a reduction plant. We do not have any directed "reduction" fisheries in BC anymore. Fish meal is used for more than just "fish farm" feed, its used in many products such as pet food and chicken feed, fertilizer etc.

like the “left over” whole herring fish after the row has been extracted? nice try

Herring are harvested for fish farm food and pet food. Nearly zero is used of human consumption by the people of BC.

Its basically the raw log exports of commercial fishing

 

[ship happens]

like the “left over” whole herring fish after the row has been extracted? nice try

Herring are harvested for fish farm food and pet food. Nearly zero is used of human consumption by the people of BC.

Its basically the raw log exports of commercial fishing

What do you do for a living?

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

What do you do for a living?

I sell dictionaries door to door, but I am smart enough to know the following:

- try and grow and harvest as much of your own food as you can.

- Raw log exports should be banned

- Don’t ever shop on Amazon

- Sustainable commercial fisheries that harvest food for BC families to eat should be a priority.

I would rather see a native or a white man sell a fish on the side of the road or at a dock for $20 than loaded on a truck and sold to China.

I actually support Fish farms on a smaller scale when responsibly managed they are a good way to feed a large population base.

I am fine with the 10% reduction in the Herring fishery. I never once said it should be totally banned.

I know the Southern resident killer whales were doomed by hunting in the 60’s and 70’s for aquariums.

DFO has ****** up so many fisheries, it is better to error on the side of caution.

 

[Hardy Guy]

like the “left over” whole herring fish after the row has been extracted? nice try

Herring are harvested for fish farm food and pet food. Nearly zero is used of human consumption by the people of BC.

Its basically the raw log exports of commercial fishing

Most of our seafood is caught for export with very little being sold in BC and the vast majority going to Aisa or the USA. Species such as manila clams, oysters, prawns, crabs, geoduck, herring roe, sea cucumber, halibut etc are all mostly exported. Yes you can buy it here but lets face it, its mostly caught for the high value markets in other countries. I'm not sure how turning the left over fish parts into another product (here in Canada) after extracting the valuable part is really such a bad thing.; sort of like using wood waste for other products. If we caught fish for only our domestic use than most of the fisheries would not survive.

What about fisheries such as the chum fishery where the roe is valuable but a lot of the meat is sold for bait.................... lots of issues in many resource extraction industries.

 

[agentaqua]

DFO have revised their herring model to manage commercial herring fisheries in the past few years (i.e. Biological reference points including the limit reference and the upper stock reference points have been developed and application of the LRP has been completed). This is due largely to the amended Fisheries Act. DFO has a priority list for "batches" of areas to have this work completed. Strait of Georgia, West Coast Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert District and Central Coast herring stocks are "Batch 2" and have yet to be prescribed in the regulations.

However, things have changed wrt other predators on herring in the past few years, as well - esp increases in sea lions, humpbacks & hake numbers and exploitation. So different areas have different stock trajectories and dynamics. It's fairly complex and difficult to make a simple statement that encompasses all of these dynamics.

 

[wildmanyeah]

lol

MCC Response to draft 2022/2023 Pacific Herring Food and Bait and Special Use Plans | Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus

On November 16, 2022, the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC) submitted the following letter in response to the draft 2022/2023 Pacific herring Food & Bait and Special Use (FB/SU) commercial…

www.mccpacific.org

From 2019 their letter:

Pacific herring are currently managed with a target harvest rate of 20% of the spawning stock biomass. While this management approach may serve the purposes of managing herring as a conventional single species fishery, it is too high of a harvest rate and too rigid to meet the principles of ecosystem based fisheries management. Target exploitation rates approaching 20% may be appropriate under extremely high biomass and recruitment conditions in combination with other management procedures but in a scenario of declining biomass with poor in-season monitoring, this rate imposes a high risk of overharvesting. Forage fish fisheries globally are managed with a wide range of exploitation rates, however those recognized as being more precautionary and ecosystem based have maximum rates around 12% (e.g., Norway herring, F=0.05-0.125)

The government gives them 10%

from 2022 their letter :

For several years, the MCC has advocated for the adoption of the HS30-60_HR10 management procedure (Appendix 1). In 2021/2022, the department reduced the SoG herring harvest rate to 10%, and we were highly supportive of this decision. For 2022/2023, declining biomass and several other indicators of caution emphasize the importance of following the ³hocke\ stick´ harvest control rule associated with HS30-60_HR10, which requires reducing the total harvest rate to 4% for the upcoming season (Table 32 in CSAS, 2022).

Now they want 4%

 

[Hardy Guy]

20 to 10 to 4 to ............................................... 0. Sort of like the SRKW. give an inch they want a mile and then a mile more. The ENGO's are not our friends.

 

[agentaqua]

lol

MCC Response to draft 2022/2023 Pacific Herring Food and Bait and Special Use Plans | Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus

On November 16, 2022, the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC) submitted the following letter in response to the draft 2022/2023 Pacific herring Food & Bait and Special Use (FB/SU) commercial…

www.mccpacific.org

From 2019 their letter:

Pacific herring are currently managed with a target harvest rate of 20% of the spawning stock biomass. While this management approach may serve the purposes of managing herring as a conventional single species fishery, it is too high of a harvest rate and too rigid to meet the principles of ecosystem based fisheries management. Target exploitation rates approaching 20% may be appropriate under extremely high biomass and recruitment conditions in combination with other management procedures but in a scenario of declining biomass with poor in-season monitoring, this rate imposes a high risk of overharvesting. Forage fish fisheries globally are managed with a wide range of exploitation rates, however those recognized as being more precautionary and ecosystem based have maximum rates around 12% (e.g., Norway herring, F=0.05-0.125)

The government gives them 10%

from 2022 their letter :

For several years, the MCC has advocated for the adoption of the HS30-60_HR10 management procedure (Appendix 1). In 2021/2022, the department reduced the SoG herring harvest rate to 10%, and we were highly supportive of this decision. For 2022/2023, declining biomass and several other indicators of caution emphasize the importance of following the ³hocke\ stick´ harvest control rule associated with HS30-60_HR10, which requires reducing the total harvest rate to 4% for the upcoming season (Table 32 in CSAS, 2022).

Now they want 4%

Thanks WMY. Yet another highly biased and misleading letter from the MCC written by Scott Wallace of the DSF and signed off by the three amigos Karen Wristen, Misty MacDuffee, & Aaron Hill. Typical, and really ignores defensible fisheries management science. Looking for "0" verses 14%. Doubt if they wish to impose the same exploitation rates on the non-human predators like seals - God forbid!

 

[wildmanyeah]

Doubt if they wish to impose the same exploitation rates on the non-human predators like seals - God forbid!

I can't remember on what social media platform but one of them wrote that if predators pushed the prey down, then the predators would then crash and balance it out and that's the "natural" way.

Then of course went on to blaming humans for giving predators advantages, like log booms, cannels, dams, rip rapp ect...

 

[Dale66]

That’s why we can never buckle. Our reps are too easy on dfo and go for compromise. Why we get pushed around. Other side doesn’t do that

 

[Derby]

As how are the reps too easy on DFO.. please explain?

 

[SpringVelocity]

Thanks WMY. Yet another highly biased and misleading letter from the MCC written by Scott Wallace of the DSF and signed off by the three amigos Karen Wristen, Misty MacDuffee, & Aaron Hill. Typical, and really ignores defensible fisheries management science. Looking for "0" verses 14%. Doubt if they wish to impose the same exploitation rates on the non-human predators like seals - God forbid!

This wasn't surprising. A group in Victoria sent a letter in asking for complete closure directly to dfo in fall. MCC is just following that lead. In this group many are members on here and local anglers. I think you can pick them out when you read on here.

It will cost them down road. Having MCC engaged is a double edge sword. We do not need to make enemies with commercial and first nations sectors that are engaged in that fishery. Plus the science is not there to close it.

Most important who are we as rec fishers to start forcing other sectors to close? As for bait fishery aren't we one of main user groups?

Can't wait to hear save the whales and stop fishing chinook being voiced by commercial sector. Should be awesome.

Recent article by one of group https://www.saanichnews.com/news/co...ring-fishery-approaches-in-strait-of-georgia/

 

[onefish]

20 to 10 to 4 to ............................................... 0. Sort of like the SRKW. give an inch they want a mile and then a mile more. The ENGO's are not our friends.

The similarities and likely end points of both the herring fishery and recreational chinook fishery are easy to see. The only thing yet to be determined is the timeline.

It has been my observation that most are fine with change as long as it is the other guy taking it the................
Prepare to bend over, DFO is coming for you next!

 

[wildmanyeah]

It has been my observation that most are fine with change as long as it is the other guy taking it the................

as bob hooton like to say in his blog it's always about who's Ox is being gored

 

[gone fishin]

It appears we are still on track for a 10% harvest rate this year, down from 20% in 2021
This will allow for our herring stocks to continue to rebuild.
Those of us on Southern Vancouver Island have noticed an improvement in the herring stocks.
Hopefully it will continue.
Great to see Chinook with full bellies of herring again.
From DFO;
2021 For the Strait of Georgia a 20% harvest rate to a maximum of 16,330 tons
2022 For the Strait of Georgia, a 10% harvest rate to a maximum of 7,850 tons.
2023 For the Strait of Georgia a 10% harvest rate to a maximum of 6,625 tons

 

[SpringVelocity]

Just a question how does the SOG herring stocks mid too upper island ECVI relate to southern island stocks area 19 in Gorge? This still baffles me. I don't see any correlation with your statement there.

Also no JDF herring fishery active?

 

[wildmanyeah]

It appears we are still on track for a 10% harvest rate this year, down from 20% in 2021
This will allow for our herring stocks to continue to rebuild.
Those of us on Southern Vancouver Island have noticed an improvement in the herring stocks.
Hopefully it will continue.
Great to see Chinook with full bellies of herring again.
From DFO;
2021 For the Strait of Georgia a 20% harvest rate to a maximum of 16,330 tons
2022 For the Strait of Georgia, a 10% harvest rate to a maximum of 7,850 tons.
2023 For the Strait of Georgia a 10% harvest rate to a maximum of 6,625 tons

There is something new for this year I’m surprised no one’s noticed yet

 

[gone fishin]

Just a question how does the SOG herring stocks mid too upper island ECVI relate to southern island stocks area 19 in Gorge? This still baffles me. I don't see any correlation with your statement there.

Also no JDF herring fishery active?

There are things we do not know for sure about Herring. But the science and observations I have experienced over the years clearly tell me Herring migrate many miles in their life cycle and they have clearly been overfished in many areas. Some of those overfished stocks are very slow to rebuild.
You might find this article of interest.
"Put yourself, for a moment, in the fins of a juvenile herring. You were born in the spring, after your mother’s egg and your father’s milt mingled on a strand of eelgrass in a British Columbia inlet, the bay colored a cloudy turquoise by the spawning multitudes. Your parents’ school returned to its open-ocean feeding grounds soon after your conception, abandoning you to hatch and then loiter in the shallows, filter plankton, and dodge hungry cormorants. After two years of maturation, you’re ready to venture out and join a school of your own—but which one?"
https://hakaimagazine.com/news/how-do-herring-learn-to-migrate-go-to-schools/

 

[SpringVelocity]

There are things we do not know for sure about Herring. But the science and observations I have experienced over the years clearly tell me Herring migrate many miles in their life cycle and they have clearly been overfished in many areas. Some of those overfished stocks are very slow to rebuild.
You might find this article of interest.
"Put yourself, for a moment, in the fins of a juvenile herring. You were born in the spring, after your mother’s egg and your father’s milt mingled on a strand of eelgrass in a British Columbia inlet, the bay colored a cloudy turquoise by the spawning multitudes. Your parents’ school returned to its open-ocean feeding grounds soon after your conception, abandoning you to hatch and then loiter in the shallows, filter plankton, and dodge hungry cormorants. After two years of maturation, you’re ready to venture out and join a school of your own—but which one?"
https://hakaimagazine.com/news/how-do-herring-learn-to-migrate-go-to-schools/

Yes but how are they related is my question? The areas are very different,so even if it gets cut back I am not sure how it relates too JDF?

 

[MRWood]

Yes but how are they related is my question? The areas are very different,so even if it gets cut back I am not sure how it relates too JDF?

I'd assume that cutbacks would lead to more herring returning from spawning in the SOG and migrating back out through juan de fuca to the west coast.