Pacific Herring: Small Fish, Big Problem - December 2019 update

#BigLittleFish: December, 2019 update:
International and local conservation groups are calling
for an immediate closure of the herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia, after recently released
data from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) revealed the herring population
biomass has dwindled from approximately 129,500 metric tonnes in 2016, to 85,700 tonnes in
2019, and is predicted to fall to 54,242 tonnes in 2020. This is a reduction of almost 60 percent
in four years.
Here are the facts:
2. Pacific herring is the basis for the food web that supports the salmon, killer whales and many other mammals, seabirds and other creatures who, with us, call this place home. 80% of the Chinook salmons' diet is herring, and over 80% of the endangered southern resident killer whales' diet is Chinook.
3. The herring fishery is worth little money and produces few jobs. 30 years ago the fishermen got as much as $5000 a ton for the fish, now it is as low as $150 and maybe $700 in a good year.
4. 90% of the herring are ground up for fish farm food and pet food. Using wild fish for non-human consumption is illegal under the federal Fisheries Act. And the herring fishery is supporting the salmon farms that are killing our wild salmon.
5. The last remaining major Pacific Herring spawn from Washington State to Alaska is in the northern Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo to Comox. DFO claims that management is guided by the principles of “Ecosystem Based Management" and "Risk Aversion" and "Precautionary Principle,” yet in the last 20 years, 4 of the 5 major herring fisheries on the BC coast have closed. Wouldn’t it make sense to leave this stock alone to hopefully rebuild all the herring schools on our coast and the marine life that need them for survival?
You can help put a stop to this destructive fishery. The most effective communication with politicians is by personal letter or email.
Please use the points above to write your letter (no postage needed for House of Commons addresses) and/or phone and email:
MP Bernadette Jordan, Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6
[e-mail] [phone]
MP
MP Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6
[e-mail] [phone]
MP Gord Johns, NDP Fisheries Critic
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6
[e-mail] [phone]

Scott Fraser, MLA, Mid Island-Pacific Rim
3945 Johnston Rd, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 5N4
[e-mail] [phone]

Lana Popham, MLA, Minister of Agriculture
260 - 4243 Glanford Avenue, Victoria, BC V8Z 4B9
[e-mail] [phone]
Our ONLINE PETITION now has 108K signatures!!
To add your name, donate, become a member, and find out more: www.ConservancyHornbyIsland.org

[@skypieper]

Oh man, as a fisherman my heart weeps. I hope we can change some current trends. Seems like fish populations on the west coast of North America are not looking too good.

[@reidwatson8648]

Focus on fish farms.

[@majorpayne1213]

fish for roe than you will have no big ones

[@martinmeesho747]

Shut it down, dfo is out to lunch

[@reidwatson8648]

Your guys lack of scince is outrageous

[@wildandliving1925]

They do over fish. The numbers are way down. Your not allowed as an average Joe to catch a sockeye salmon in that area that has already colasped