Although the overexploitation of Pacific herring remains a burning memory for many watching the health of the keystone species, a commercial fishery is set to return in late February with increased harvest rates.
On Jan. 17 Fisheries and Oceans Canada approved an increase to the harvest of herring in the Strait of Georgia, rising from 10 per cent of the region’s biomass last year to 14 per cent in 2025. On the west coast of Vancouver Island a commercial harvest of herring roe on kelp has been approved for the first time in several years, although large seine and gillnet boats will not be permitted in the region.
“Commercial fishing opportunities will be provided on the west coast Vancouver Island to support fisheries for spawn on kelp and rights-based harvest pending ongoing discussions,” wrote DFO in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa, noting that the fishery’s anticipated impact on the region’s biomass of herring would be small. “This is expected to represent a harvest rate of approximately 1.3 per cent in the area.”
This follows a directive from the Nuu-chah-nulth Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries given in November, stating that the Island’s west coast would remain closed to commercial boats in 2025 – except for the harvest of strips of kelp when they collect eggs during the annual herring spawn. Ha’oom, a rights-based fisheries society owned by the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Hesquiaht, Ehattesaht and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations, is planning a potential harvest of spawn on kelp, which would tap into the commercial potential of selling herring roe to foreign markets.
“Recent research indicates 78 per cent of the herring used in a closed [spawn-on-kelp] operation survive, compared to 0 per cent in seine and gillnet fisheries,” wrote Wickaninnish, Cliff Atleo, chair of the Council of Ha’wiih, in a letter to DFO in November. “Therefore, being cautious, Nuu-chah-nulth counsel only spawn-on-kelp fisheries for the [west coast Vancouver Island] area in 2025.”
DFO’s decision to open up the fishery comes amid encouraging data indicating a rebound of the species. On the Island’s west coast a biomass that was calculated to be under 15,000 tonnes in 2018 rose to 65,500 tonnes last year, with almost 60,000 expected in the region in 2025.
The herring spawn has also grown significantly, based on DFO’s modelling that calculates reproduction in an area. On the west coast of Vancouver Island the herring spawn index was calculated to be under 12,000 tonnes in 2015, but in 2024 this rose to over 86,300 tonnes, the largest seen in the region since the mid-1970s.
Those who live on the coast are watching this impact other animals in the ecosystem.
“We now see an abundance of whales returning, coming in closer to where we haven’t seen them,” said Errol Sam of Ahousaht during a Council of Ha’wiih meeting on Feb. 11. “Two years ago we had a grey whale right at the front of our reserve because of the herring coming in.”
“We observe grey whales and humpback whales all in front of the village of Opitsaht,” added Tla-o-qui-aht Fisheries Manager Andrew Jackson at the meeting.
Commercial fisheries are opening elsewhere on the B.C. coast as well. These include around Prince Rupert, where a five-per-cent harvest of the biomass has been made available to catch up to 2,300 tonnes, and on the central coast, where boats can catch 4.7 per cent of the species in the area, amounting to 817 tonnes. A commercial fishery remains closed off the coast of Haida Gwaii, where only a harvest for food, social and ceremonial purposes is permitted.
The largest herring fishery will be off the east coast of Vancouver Island, where the Strait of Georgia has been the only region in recent years to consistently open for commercial seine and gillnet fleets. This fishery aims to catch female herring while they are full of eggs, a lucrative commodity Japan and other foreign markets. The actual fish are normally ground down and sold as feed for livestock or fish farms.
This year limit in the Strait of Georgia has been set at 11,600 tonnes, representing an increase to catching 14 per cent of the biomass from the 10 per cent allocated in 2024.
This has met opposition from the region’s six WSÁNEĆ hereditary chiefs, who in November demanded an immediate moratorium on the fishery due to the fragility of herring stocks.
“We are deeply frustrated,” says Tsawout Hereditary Chief Eric Pelkey (W̱IĆKINEM). “This decision further jeopardizes the health of our waters and our way of life.”
Although the Council of Ha’wiih voted in favour of a spawn-on-kelp fishery in 2025, Nuu-chah-nulth representatives remain concerned about allowing larger-scale commercial seine and gillnet boats into their territories. The west coast of Vancouver Island has been closed for a commercial herring roe fishery since 2005 – with the exception of 2014 and 2015. In those respective years a Nuu-chah-nulth-led court injunction blocked the commercial catch, followed by a meagre season in 2015 that yielded no significant harvest.
Herring are considered a critical species for adult Pacific salmon, as DFO research indicates that they account for 58 per cent of the coho diet and 62 per cent of what chinook eat.
Uchucklesaht Ha’wilth Clifford Charles recalls a time in the 1970s when herring boats spread their nets through the mouth of Barkley Sound.
“There was no passageway. If you wanted to get into Trevor Channel and go to Port Alberni, it was most difficult,” said Charles during the Feb. 11 Council of Ha’wiih meeting. “There was a lot of accidents that happened where boats got their propellers caught in somebody’s net. I call that overfishing.”
“For far too long our resources have been exploited,” stressed Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Hasheukumiss. “I really truly believe it should be an Indigenous-run fishery in our back yards.”
Nuchatlaht Councillor Archie Little noted that not all nations voted for the spawn-on-kelp fishery.
“We don’t support that. There’s absolutely no herring access in our territory,” he said during the meeting. “We want that duly noted so it’s not a free for all.”
Over the last decade the province’s herring exports have been as high as $55.3 million in 2017. The majority of product went to Japan, with China and the US as other destinations. In 2023 B.C. exported $23 million worth of herring product, with $15 million going to Japan.
