David Wiseman

A very thorough and interesting article on a very important issue with huge implications to the Salish Sea and beyond eg: migrating water fowl that rely on herring and their roe to nourish them for their long journeys to nesting sites in the north. Herring are vital to the web of life in the marine ecosystem and the traditional diet of coastal indigenous peoples for millennia as shown in archeologic studies of fish bones in middens. Good science indicate a serious decline in spawning populations of herring which are crucial to salmon including chinook which are vital to resident orcas. The DFO "Integrated Management Plan"serves the interests of the commercial fishing industry but has led to the decimation of all of the herring populations of the BC coast except for one ie: near Hornby and Denman islands and between Comox and Parksville. The logical plan would be to suspend this fishery to allow a recovery to recur before it is too late. David Wiseman Board member Conservancy Hornby Island