1) there was enough herring to fill the quota last year. Industry chose to leave some In the water as there was a carry over from 2018. Also many of us that participate in the fishery saw a very large amount of 2 year olds and chose not to switch our gear to chase them.
2) our prices were down roughly 10% last year in the row fishery but our vessel alone put in close to $600,000 gross worth of fish last year.
3) the only survey done on herring in the gulf lasts 3 weeks and surveys about 10% of the gulf. In that 10% they sounded between 85-120,000 tons. The stock assessment does not include 2 yr old or 3yr old fish and is based on the amount of spawn not the amount off fish.
4) I doubt very much the seabirds are dying from lack of herring as there is lots of herring on the B.C. coast. The central area had one of its biggest spawns in decades as did WCVI, and QCI.
5) The enviros had a rep at HIAB that stated too much herring can be detrimental to the Chinook stocks as herring and Chinook fry compete for the same food.
6) as for the health of the Chinook stock the recreational sector is the largest user of that resource so if you are really worried about the whales then perhaps that fishery is where government should start cutting?
What else ya got??