Protect Pacific Herring

Importance of Pacific Herring

Pacific herring may be small in size but they are one of the most important fish in British Columbia’s marine waters.  Herring have been described as “the foundation of the marine ecosystem” as they are central to the diet of many of our fish, sea birds and sea mammals. Herring are critical to the diet of chinook salmon that are the primary food source for the endangered Southern Resident Orca population.

“Lambert Channel and adjecent shorelines of Hornby are THE most important in all of B.C. for spawning. Nearly one in four of B.C.’s herring spawn in these areas.” - Dr. Doug Hay, former research scientist for Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

Threats to Pacific Herring

Historically, annual herring spawns took place up and down the coast and throughout the Salish Sea.  Herring were one of the most important food sources for coastal First Nations. Unfortunately, most of the large herring runs have fallen victim over the years to DFO mismanagement and fishing industry greed.  Today only one major spawning area remains, between Parksville and Comox and around Hornby and Denman islands, but now there are very clear signs that this population is also failing.  

For a number of years Conservancy Hornby Island, other environmental organizations, First Nations and members of the scientific community had been raising the alarm that this last major herring run is in trouble. We believe that given the critical importance of herring to the ecosystem and with the uncertainties of climate change that the commercial herring fishery should be reduced or suspended all together.  

Issues with the Pacific Herring Roe Fishery

The commercial roe herring fishery harvests herring during their spawn as the aim is to catch the fish just prior to the females releasing their eggs.  There are no other fisheries in Canada (and most of the world) that allow the killing of fish on their spawning grounds.  Unlike salmon herring do not die after spawning but return year after year to spawn again.  By allowing industry to kill the mature herring on their spawning grounds we not only prevent them from spawning to create the next generation, we also remove whole year classes of mature fish from potentially spawning in the following years. 

The primary goal of the fishery is to extract the mature egg skeins to be sold mainly to Japan as a delicacy.  The remains of the females and all of the males, which is about 90% of the harvested biomass, is not used for human consumption but for pet food and salmon farm feed.  Not only that but the value of the herring harvest has plummeted over the last 25 years from several thousand dollars per tonne to just $500 or less in recent years.  Why would we put our marine ecosystem at risk by continuing this wasteful and ecologically destructive management regime? Good question!

There was actually some good news in December 2021 when the new Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray announced she was reducing the herring quota by 50% in the Strait of Georgia despite strong objections of the fishing industry.  This positive decision raised hopes for a strong spawn this spring but when the herring did arrive in early March it became clear that the spawn was one of the smallest and lightest in recent history. Despite the best efforts the commercial seine and gillnet fleets they only managed to catch 4,300 tons of their 7,850-ton quota:  a quota that the minister had already reduced by 50%! The fish were just not here.

Changes to the commercial herring fishery are long overdue.  Given the low return of herring this year we may now be facing the point of no return for the last major spawning population on the coast.  Four of the five major spawning areas in BC were fished into oblivion years ago and none of them have recovered.

We have all read about how the Atlantic cod population was destroyed by mismanagement and overfishing and that population has not recovered in almost 3 decades. If we allow our herring population to follow the path of the Atlantic cod the implications for this coast cannot be underestimated.  Herring are the foundation species so if they collapse it will severely impact the health and survival of almost every marine species in our waters.

In addition to a moratorium on the commercial herring fishery we also need a Herring Recovery Program to protect and restore herring stocks, and to help fishermen and shore workers phase out of the industry.  The future of the entire marine ecosystem depends on healthy herring stocks so let’s ensure that herring do not become the next Atlantic cod.

A Solution for Pacific Herring

Conservancy Hornby Island is proposing that a Herring Recovery Program be put in place to allow herring stocks to rebuild.

Conservancy Hornby Island (CHI) and several First Nations, the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, the Islands Trust and 65 Environmental Organizations as well as many scientists, sports fishing and whale watching organizations have come out in support of placing a moratorium on the roe and what is called the food and bait fisheries on the entire BC coast. Although simply closing the herring fishery could be perceived as draconian measures to protect this well-known foundation species, the Herring Recovery Program is a positive step that many fishers, coastal communities and marine-based industries such as whale watching and sports fishing and many commercial fishermen themselves can support.