Via YouTube: In this video I as able to witness and film the annual herring spawn which happens on the west coast of British Columbia. This spawn happened in outside of the remote and small community of Winter Harbour on Vancouver Island. They are a little fish but have a HUGE impact on the west coast being a cornerstone species that feeds animals as large as humpback whales all the way down to tiny organisms on the ocean floors and everything in between.
From www.pacificwild.org : “Herring populations on the central coast, and throughout B.C. waters, have declined precipitously over the past 100 years. The factors that affect herring populations are complex: water temperature, food availability, predator and competitor populations. However, many observers point to rampant commercial fisheries, which began harvesting herring en masse in the late 1800’s to make fertilizer and fish oil. In the 1960s, following decades of extremely high catches, herring populations crashed coastwide. After a short closure, commercial fisheries were reopened. Now, herring no longer spawn in many of their former spawning sites on the coast, and those who do, spawn in much smaller numbers. Four of the five major herring populations in B.C. have declined to historic low levels.”
If you’d like more information about how you can help pacific herring populations the people at Pacific Wild are doing some great work.
Write your representative in government : https://pacificwild.org/action/voice-…
Donate to Pacific Wild and learn more : https://pacificwild.org/campaign/prot….