Herring staging on the east coast of the Rock

Sure is a lot of sea lions rafting out in front or point Holmes right now.
 
I’m scratching my head. Everyone is up in arms about booming seal populations and seal predation on smolts in the Salish Sea and here is 46 million pounds of their main food source (and Chinooks) being removed for the financial benefit of relatively few.

Meanwhile sportfisherman are being restricted to protect the SRKW food Chinook source? I’m doing the rounds of trying to get these conservation groups to turn their focus on this important issue.
 
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kelly said:
I’m scratching my head. Everyone is up in arms about booming seal populations and seal predation on smolts in the Salish Sea yet here is 46 million pounds of their main food source (and Chinooks) being removed for the financial benefit of relatively few.

Yet here sportfisherman are being restricted to protect the SRKW food Chinook source? I’m doing the rounds of trying to get these conservation groups to turn their focus on this important issue.
Click to expand...

Kelly how can we help? letters to mp's? just tell me and i'd be happy to write letters or do what I can
 
The conservation NGOs that many have become skeptical of (justified in some cases) are really our best bet. The majority of the time they truly want the best for the environment and this is where we need to find common ground. Their campaign skills can't be denied. I've sent out some emails to them to get the discussion going. Below is the guts of what I sent.





The 2018 Herring quota in the Salish Sea is 23,000 tons for the commercial fleet. That is 46 million pounds of a keystone species being removed from the ecosystem in a time of downward spiralling Salmon returns, starving Orcas, severe restrictions put on other industries and millions of dollars being spent on studies into the causes. How is this possible? How has this fishery continued to quietly remove a huge portion of our ecosystems most important food source for the financial gain of relatively few individuals? This fishery should have been shut down decades ago as one of the first major efforts to save our struggling coastal ecosystem and Salmon stocks.

To further this…

  • Much of the recent blame for struggling Salmon and more specifically Chinook Salmon stocks has focused on the quickly rising Sea Lion and Seal populations. Studies have shown that up to 40% of juvenile Chinook are being predated on by Harbour Seals in some Salish Sea estuary environments. Many people have begun to discuss the need for culls while ignoring the fact that we are removing their main food source (and Chinooks Salmon’s) and forcing them to find alternatives.
  • DFO has claimed their current quotas and harvest models are stable but it is clear this entails stability at a historically low range. I would be confident to argue that their “historic levels” are only accurate to the levels post fishery collapse during the 1960s and 1970s that resulted in a complete coast wide herring fishery closure. Think about that. A resource that was shutdown to harvesting in the 1960s and 1970s to protect the environment yet is still fully operational in 2018. This rarity is not a glimmer of hope for resources but a massive oversight by DFO. The issue here is that it will be tough to find accurate supporting data of Herring biomass levels from 1900-1930s before a major commercial fishing effort.
  • Pilchards had become a major food staple to a number of species on our coast from the late 1990s to 2011. Pilchards suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared from the coast almost overnight leaving many species scrambling to switch back to herring or whatever alternative was available, such as the seal example above. Although there was a major commercial fishery developing by 2011, this disappearance is likely to blame on natural factors as Pilchards have mysteriously come and gone from our coast multiple times in the last decade. Chinook salmon stocks seemed to take a hit at this time and there was a noticeable downward change in size averages on the south coast. This lack of Pilchards as a food source only solidifies the importance of health Herring stocks.
  • While this fishery employees relatively few in the big scheme of things, it is still a major employer of the dwindling commercial fleet on the coast. Commercial fishing has a lot of power behind the scenes but must turn it’s focus to only the most sustainable fisheries and this is not one of them. Empathy goes out to those trying to hold onto heritage and history working in the commercial industry to provide for their families but enough is enough. Sustainable business in a number of industries such as sports fishing and whale watching are being forced to close while commercial captains and quota owners make hundreds of thousands of dollars in weeks on the back of this keystone species.
 
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kelly said:
The 2018 Herring quota in the Salish Sea is 23,000 tons for the commercial fleet. That is 46 million pounds of a keystone species being removed from the ecosystem in a time of downward spiralling Salmon returns, starving Orcas, severe restrictions put on other industries and millions of dollars being spent on studies into the causes. How is this possible? How has this fishery continued to quietly remove a huge portion of our ecosystems most important food source for the financial gain of relatively few individuals? This fishery should have been shut down decades ago as one of the first major efforts to save our struggling coastal ecosystem and Salmon stocks.
Click to expand...

In addition to your excellent points, removing 23,000 tons of mature herring just before the spawn will decrease the number of eggs laid. If the average average fecundity is 20,000 eggs, with 4 fish per pound (2 females) that 46million pounds quota = 92million females x 20,000 eggs = 1.8 TRILLION eggs that wont be laid in the SGO. Those eggs provide food for many creatures, as do the herring larvae that hatch out of them. Young salmon just entering the salt water are not eating large herring, but do depend on the stray eggs, larvae, and small juvenile developing herring that inhabit sheltered bays (where young salmon hang out) before migrating to deeper water. This doesn't take into account herring spawn multiple times, which those 92 million females will not do. The removal of this huge biomoass that is the main mechanism for converting plant biomass to protein in the food chain is possibly the biggest threat to the survival of salmon and SRKWs.

Kelly is correct, the NGOs could be an ally in reducing or eliminating this wasteful fishery. NGOS also want fish farms moved to land, and are advocates for habitat restoration. All actions that are completely in line with sport fisherman goals of enhancing the resource and goals sport fisherman are ineffective at promoting despite the best efforts of a number of dedicated individuals and underfunded groups. Its short sighted to see them only as an enemy because of their current calls for fishing exclusion zones.
 
I will see if I can make a video of myself in my wife’s grade one class (6year olds) going over the ocean food chain. I’ll see if I ask what will happen to the whales and salmon if all the little fish (herring) are taken away. I bet they will all answer correctly and then I’ll send that vid to the DFO and ask them why first graders can figure it out but they can’t.

Seriously, Then numbers here are staggering! How does this get overlooked?!
 
Never before has so much been wasted so that a few can make so much. It only makes sense that this circus is driven by politics. I"m only guessing, but I smell a Jimmy. Chances are he owns more than a few of those licences as well as most of the packing plants. Must be frustrating for the biologists and scientists in the DFO to see this take place. I would like to think that if the average person knew the what really happens to more than 50% of the catch there would be more pressure to eliminate it.
 
Stizzla said:
I can only think of two people who seem to benefit from draining the ocean of it’s life... Ursula from The Little Mermaid amd one other. Come on Jim, how much more do you need?
Click to expand...
It's never enough and just like his car dealerships those with the lowest catch get replaced. It's called Free Enterprise. Too bad it comes at every living things expense though and when you look at it that way you need to wonder what is going on here. Looks like California is figuring it out. https://baynature.org/article/bay-buffet-spawn-pacific-herring/
 
Perhaps the well organized NGO's could look at an expose that shows the waste of this horrible fishery and how it impacts on the entire ecosystem in The SoG. If that could then be linked to Jimmy's fleets it could be a major embarrassment to him and his corporation. Or does Jimmy even care at all about the West Coast and nature?
 
The real questions is - what is happening to all of the herring? Here is an article from the Sun (last year) that talks a little about the economics. The bottom line is there is VERY little demand for the herring and roe.

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-...roe-herring-fishery-carries-risks-and-rewards

Fishermen used to get $4-5000 per tonne. Now they get a couple hundred, yet the fish are still being pulled from the Straight. Where is all that mass going?
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but based on the players involved my guess would be the FISH FARM industry. Who else would want it? It likely gets ground up and fed to net pen Atlantics who in turn put our wild salmon at serious risk.

What if the herring were left alone for 8 years. How hard would that be? Well it may cost some money to buyout the fishermen to get them to stay home - About 3-4 millions dollars per year. Deduct their expenses from operating the fleet and that number could be considerably lower (sub 2 million).

Kickstarter campaign to raise funds? I wold certainty donate.

Then, if it is so important to keep the commercial fleet active - maybe they could replace the seine gear for gurneys and the fleet could become a troll fleet in SOG. Troll caught salmon sold at a price that is worthy of the fish. Instead of trying to create the cheapest salmon possible to market to the masses and put wild salmon at risk.
 
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