Letter Moratorium Herring Fishery in the Salish Sea - Oct 25, 2019

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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
October 25, 2019 
 
via e-mail: jonathan.wilkinson@parl.gc.ca 
 
File Number: 5020-30 Fisheries-Herring  
 
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson 
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard 
House of Commons 
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0A6 
 
 
Dear Minister Wilkinson: 
 
Re:   Moratorium on the Herring Fishery in the Salish Sea  
 
On behalf of Bowen Island Municipal Council and Islands Trust Council, we are writing this joint letter to request that 
you place a moratorium on the herring fishery in the Salish Sea until an ecosystem-based management plan is in 
place that considers the current and future effects of climate change and the potential impacts of the fishery on 
predator species, in particular, Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales. We are asking for this 
preventative action to ensure that precautionary measures are being used in the management of herring, a keystone 
species in the Salish Sea.  
 
We are concerned with herring management issues because as you know, Pacific herring are foundational to the 
food web of the Salish Sea. Herring play a critical role in the functioning of the ecosystem. Pacific herring are the 
dominant forage fish in the Salish Sea and a vital food source for species of seabirds, and for many species of fish; 
including Chinook salmon, which in turn, is the main food source of the Southern Resident killer whales. As well, 
herring are a fundamental part of the marine food web for Coast Salish peoples who have resided within this 
landscape since time immemorial.    
 
We are concerned that the annual removal of 20% of the herring population may not support the needs of predator 
species, especially as populations struggle to recover. We note that your mandate letter includes the direction to 
“use scientific evidence, traditional Indigenous knowledge, and the precautionary principle, and take into account 
climate change, when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management”. We question whether 
there is sufficient scientific evidence available on the population, habitat, and ecosystem, and the fishery dynamics of 
the BC Pacific Herring to support current management decisions. We are not aware of information being available 
about appropriate conservation limits for Pacific Herring based on ecosystem considerations in the context of the 
cumulative effects of climate change. 
 
We ask for your leadership to protect one of the foundational species – the BC Pacific herring - f

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