Herring have a decided disadvantage when it comes to standing up for themselves in government and industry offices where decisions about their continued survival are being made – they can’t stand! Or travel there. Or speak for themselves for that matter. So Terry and Jude have been standing up, speaking up, and communicating for them for many years. Why talk about herring in a whale’s blog? Well humpback whales are returning to our area because their population is increasing and they’re finding their old herring feeding grounds once again. A key component in Welcoming Whales is keeping enough herring around for them.
Recently our work as principal drafters of a resolution to protect herring resulted in astonishing success!! Powell River City Council championed this resolution at two provincial municipality meetings in 2018, both of which endorsed it! As a result all the municipalities in BC agreed to call upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to direct the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect herring by:
- Developing a west coast herring recovery plan through a process involving First Nations, independent scientists, naturalists, other levels of government and relevant non-government organizations
- Enacting a moratorium on all commercial fishing of herring in British Columbia to be instituted immediately until populations recover to the level decided upon by the herring recovery plan.
This resolution was endorsed by the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities and the Union of BC Municipalities in 2018! Now, we’re not naive enough to assume that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will jump on board this initiative to protect herring, since that arm of government is notoriously ‘hard of herring ‘ when it comes to listening to anyone other than their Corporate masters such as Jimmy Pattison who controls most of the BC fishing fleet. What DFO really stands for is Department of Fish Obituaries! Many species they have ‘managed’ they have managed to bring to commercial, if not outright, collapse! But this resolution provides the basis for organizations and individuals to organize around protecting herring in their own areas. We’ll continue to organize people in the Powell River region to protect herring here and along the whole coast of BC. March is the height of the spawning season and we hope to see more local spawning activity this year and keep the herring roe fishing boats from fishing this area.
Why talk about herring in a whale’s blog? Well humpback whales are returning to our area because their population is increasing and they’re finding their old herring feeding grounds once again. A key component in Welcoming Whales is keeping enough herring around for them.
Now, herring are a keystone species, which so many others eat, but aside from that they are fantastic beings in their own right! They’re so cool to swim with, their metallic silver sides flashing rainbow colours. More beautiful than all the chrome on any classic car, they are living molten silver insinuating through the emerald green sea in vast numbers! Being surrounded by these gorgeous fish as far as you can see underwater is mesmerizing and hypnotizing. We’re transported into an alternate reality of hive mind, individuals acting as one organism. Swim on Herring! On into future seas where you can seize the day to spawn, swerve, flash, flip, leap and love.
For the Wee Fish and Whopping Whales