By Ian Holmes

Sizable herring fishery invades waters off of Parksville-Qualicum

Mar 5, 2018 | 4:25 PM

NANAIMO —  The Oceanside region is the epicentre of a strong Strait of Georgia herring fishery.

It’s expected to be a good year for the annual event. Brenda Spence, with the department of fisheries and oceans, said the stock assessment is strong at just above 138,000 tonnes of herring for this year’s fishery.

She said gill net operators hit the waters last Friday, followed by seiners on Monday.

“The spawn right now is basically from Columbia Beach down toward Northwest Bay, and we’ve seen approximately 100 gill nets in that area,” Spence said.

She said the strong assessment is due to ideal environmental conditions which allowed the mature herring to flourish in local waters.

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This season might pass quickly for the fish, which are a hot commodity in Asia.

“The quota for the gill net fishery is 11,177 tonnes and they’ve already caught 7,800 in the past three days, quite a fast harvest rate for gill net,” Spence said.

As the catch zone for the herring widens, commercial operators could make their way as far south as Nanaimo for their catch. 

Spence said the fishery creates an impressive spectacle as a huge influx of wildlife converge on turquoise waters.

“You can see fishermen hard at work and as well as the incredible natural infusion of the biomass in to the area, the sea lions and birds all congregating into that area, it’s quite amazing to see.”

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes