The annual herring roe fishery sees roughly 100 million of the small fish eligible to be caught in the waters between the Comox Valley and Nanaimo. The imminent fishery could last as quickly as a few days or several weeks. (Department of Fisheries and Oceans)

By Ian Holmes

fish flap

Debate heats up over last remaining west coast commercial herring fishery

Mar 3, 2020 | 5:12 PM

NANAIMO — Objections are growing louder as a scaled-down fleet of vessels idles on standby off Vancouver Island’s east coast for the annual roe herring fishery.

Roughly 75 Gillnet and seiners are poised to imminently hit the ocean between the Comox Valley and Nanaimo. They’re ready to catch up to 100 million herring, which is the limit imposed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The turnout of ships is down roughly 25 per cent from previous years.

Conservancy Hornby Island chair Grant Scott criticized the department’s oversight of west coast herring over the last 20 years, saying four of the pacific region’s five spawning grounds were shut down during that time.

“This is the last one and in the last four years the volume here has gone down 60 per cent,” Scott said. “It should be shut down and the herring stocks will recuperate if they are left alone for a few years.”

The DFO’s median estimate of 54,000 metric tonnes of herring in the Strait of Georgia this year is down sharply from the 2016 estimate of 130,000 metric tonnes.

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Scott said herring are critical to the food chain, supplying valuable feed to whales, sea birds and several species of larger fish, including beleaguered salmon populations.

He said the effects of climate change are another reason to cancel the fishery for the time being.

If closed down, Scott said he would like to see compensation in place for impacted anglers.

An online petition by Conservancy Hornby Island to suspend the 2020 fishery garnered more than 5,600 signatures, which was presented in the House of Commons late last year.

Supporters included Courtenay-Alberni New Democrat MP Gord Johns, who strongly opposes the fishery.

Herring Aid, another group denouncing the fishery, staged a rally in Qualicum Beach on Sunday, March 1.

The DFO’s regional pelagics coordinator Brenda Spence said a 20 per cent harvest rate will achieve their conservation rates for the fishery.

“When we apply this over time as we have, the stock has shown itself to be robust to the harvest level,” Spence said.

She said assessments and management of the fishery are closely monitored “to ensure we do the best possible stock assessment, forecast as well as management on the ground.

“We have biologists, technicians, people on the flight program and dedicated managers.”

Schools of herring have been traced locally off French Creek, Northwest Bay south of Parksville, Northumberland Channel between Duke Point and Gabriola Island and as far south as the Ladysmith area.

The off-season commercial herring fishery provides an economic jolt for people working in processing facilities and the trucking industry.

Photographers are drawn to the wildlife phenomenon of birds and sea life swarming herring vessels while anglers try to haul in their catch.

Updated DFO notices on the herring fishery, including estimated fish population levels and locations can be viewed here.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes