Letter to DFO Minister Murray re: Announcement to Reduce Herring Quota

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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC V8R 1H8 
Telephone (250) 405-5151 
Fax (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 
604.660.2421. Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
Email: information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web: www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
February 24, 2022 File No.:  0110-20 
 
Via Email: min@dfo-mpo-gc.ca 
 
The Honourable Joyce Murray 
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard 
200 Kent St Station 15N100 
Ottawa ON K1A 0E6 
 
Dear Minister Murray: 
 
Re:  Announcement to Reduce Herring Quota 
 
I am writing on behalf of Islands Trust Council to express thanks for the December 16, 2021, 
announcement that, for most commercial fisheries, the herring quota will be reduced to a 10% 
harvest rate. In 2018 we wrote to ministry staff followed by a 2019 joint letter, written with Bowen 
Island Municipality to Minister Wilkinson, on the topic of herring protection.  We are pleased now 
to see this reduction in the harvest rate to preserve and protect this key marine species.  
 
Pacific herring is the dominant forage fish in the Salish Sea and a fundamental food source for 
many species of seabirds and fish including Chinook salmon which, in turn, is the main food source 
of the Southern Resident killer whale. Herring is also a vital part of the marine food web for Coast 
Salish peoples who have resided here since time immemorial.    
 
Islands Trust Council encourages actions and programs of other government agencies which place 
priority on the side of protection for Islands Trust Area ecosystems.  We encourage you to take 
further steps to protect herring in the Salish Sea and to collaborate with local governments and 
First Nations to ensure this protection. 
 
 
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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
Page 2 
Minister Murray 
February 24, 2022 
 
 
Located in the islands and waters of the Salish Sea, between the British Columbia mainland and 
southern Vancouver Island, the Islands Trust Area encompasses 13 major and more than 450 
smaller islands, covering 5,200 square kilometers. The area is home to the highest density of 
species at risk in Canada and some of the most diverse and sensitive marine ecosystems in the 
world.   
 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
 
 
 
Peter Luckham 
Chair, Islands Trust Council  
pluckham@islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
cc: Islands Trust Area MPs 
Bowen Island Municipal Council 
Islands Trust Council 
Islands Trust website

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