Via Youtube: The annual herring spawn in the Strait of Georgia around Hornby and Denman Islands is the last of six major herring spawns on the west coast of Canada – the rest were overfished. Herring are a critical part of the First Nations diet. They have used the fish and their roe sustainably for thousands of years. The Canadian government now allows a commercial fleet to kill 20% of the herring every year. 10% of the catch – the roe – is sent to Asia. 90% is ground up into fish farm food. The fishers used to earn up to $5000 per ton and now only earn between $300 and $700 per ton. There are very few jobs for fishermen and plant workers. Local communities get little if any benefit. These remarkable fish are crucial food for endangered Chinook salmon and killer whales as well as all the other sea creatures around these islands. We need to stop the commercial herring roe fishery. Do we need another environmental tragedy?
