Question Period Note: Pacific Herring

Pacific Herring

• The Government is committed to the conservation of Pacific herring, and taking evidence-based management decisions to protect the fisheries for future generations.
• We will continue to consult widely and openly with Indigenous communities and harvesters towards that shared objective.

Background
• Pacific Herring is managed as five major stock areas along the coast: Haida Gwaii (HG); Prince Rupert District (PRD); Central Coast (CC); Strait of Georgia (SOG); and, West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI). There are also two minor stock areas: Area 2W and Area 27.
• There are several directed fisheries for Pacific Herring in each area: First Nations Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC), Spawn-on-Kelp (SOK, eggs on kelp), Food & Bait and Special Use (whole Herring), and Roe (Seine and Gillnet fisheries). Moreover, the Gladstone Supreme Court of Canada decision affirmed a commercial SOK right for the Heiltsuk First Nation in the CC.
• In recent years, the Pacific Herring fishery in BC has been controversial. Last season, a petition was launched by the Conservancy Hornby Island organization seeking an end to commercial roe herring fisheries in the SOG given herring’s important role in the ecosystem. In addition, the group disputes the economic benefits of the fishery, specifically the practice of harvesting the roe and rendering the remainder of the fish into other products.
• It is likely that concerns in SOG will intensify during the upcoming 2019/2020 season. Estimated median spawning biomass in 2019 was significantly lower than forecasted. Pacific Wild and other conservation groups have recently released news articles about this.
• The first possible fisheries for the upcoming season are a Food and Bait and Special Use fishery in the Strait of Georgia that would occur in late November 2019 (normally scheduled to open on November 7, however they are delayed this year to allow consultations on stock assessment results).
• Some First Nations, notably Nuu-chah-nulth, Heiltsuk, and Haida, have protested the commercial roe herring fisheries in previous years citing concerns about conservation and long-term sustainability of herring stocks, as well as its impacts on First Nations FSC and spawn-on-kelp access.
• DFO is currently consulting on harvest levels for all stock areas for the 2019/20 season.

Strait of Georgia Commercial Roe Fishery
• Estimated median spawning biomass in 2019 was 64,281 t (in addition to 21,419 t landed from commercial fisheries), and the forecasted median spawning biomass in 2020 is 54,242 t.
• There is a large range of uncertainty in these estimates due to a number of factors, such as variability in estimated natural mortality.
• In 2018/2019, a maximum 20% harvest rate (21,419 t for all herring fisheries combined) was set based on the precautionary approach, leaving 80% of the spawning biomass as well as juvenile herring to support ecosystem processes, such as food for salmon and marine mammals. In the 2019 roe herring fishery, 6,512 tons was harvested by seine gear and 7,597 tons by gillnet, Food and Bait and Special Use, 7,310 tons by seine.
• Section 31 of the Fisheries Act prohibits the harvest of fish for the purpose of converting it into fish meal and fertilizer except under the authority of the Minister. The roe herring fishery purpose is roe for human consumption. In addition, herring harvested for roe in BC is exempted from this section as the carcasses are often rendered after the roe is extracted for human consumption. This exemption gives the fishing sector flexibility to adjust according to market demand.

Other Major and Minor Stock Areas
• For over a decade, HG and WCVI have demonstrated periods of poor stock recruitment and spawning, and have been closed or had very limited commercial fishing opportunities. In 2019, HG and WCVI remained closed to support stock rebuilding. In 2019, only limited commercial spawn-on-kelp fisheries opportunities were permitted in the major stock areas of PRD and CC, and in minor stock areas 2W and 27. In 2019, Indigenous FSC opportunities were supported in all major and minor stock areas.

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) approach
• Pacific herring fisheries elicit diverse views from Indigenous, commercial harvesters, conservation groups and members of the public, stemming from broader issues regarding sustainability, access, Aboriginal rights and title, and the decreasing economic value of the fisheries.
• To address these challenges, the Department initiated Pacific Herring Renewal in 2015 to modernize the management approach and improve alignment with the Sustainable Fisheries Framework, including the Precautionary Approach.
• Within the broader renewal work, a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) approach is being undertaken in collaboration with First Nations and stakeholders in all areas. The MSE approach is intended to broaden agreement and understanding among stakeholders through simulations that evaluate the ability of various harvest control scenarios to achieve multiple fishery objectives, such as conservation and maximization of economic benefits, etc.

If Pressed on the Petition for a Commercial Herring Closure
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware of opposition to the fishery expressed by some conservation groups in the Strait of Georgia management area.
• We will continue to maintain an open dialogue with all interested stakeholders and partners to hear their concerns, and to inform decisions based on the best available science.