The Westerly News
Jan. 14, 2004
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has released its management plan for
the 2004 commercial herring roe harvest on the BC coast.
On Dec. 30, Federal Minister Geoff Regan announced that assessment regions have increased by an average of 25 percent. But the harvest will increase only slightly on the Barkley Sound/Esperanza Point region, according to local DFO Resource Manager Laurie Gordon.
"The forecast is for 37,000 (Imperial) tons. With our 20% rule, that would call for a harvest of 7,425 tons, but we're not harvesting everything," Gordon said Friday.
The main effort will be the seine fishery, which will see 3,500 tons harvested in a pool fishery, split between Barkley Sound and Esperanza. That compares with 3,200 tons in 2003, with 2,200 in Barkley Sound (actual catch 2,285 tons) and 1,000 in Esperanza. The gill net fleet will take a further 1,200 tons in Esperanza.
"When you add in another 1,083 tons for spawn-on-kelp, test fishing and First Nations food, social and ceremonial (purposes), that's a total of 5,783 tons," Gordon said. That leaves a total of 1,640 tons unallocated.
"We feel that's a precautionary approach," Gordon said.
Roe herring must be caught and processed at just the right stage of ripeness, mainly for the Asian market. The harvest takes place between late February and April, with DFO conducting test seine fisheries to determine the maturity of the roe. Last year, scientists observed three separate herring spawns in Barkley Sound. DFO will also be conducting a code-wire tag (CWT) program this year, tagging and releasing female herring on the spawning grounds.
Gordon said the program should answer some nagging questions for scientists.
Such as, What the heck is a herring stock? And does that herring know she's supposed to go back where she came from to spawn?
Currently DFO bases its forecasts on five distinct stocks: Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Islands, Central Coast, Strait of Georgia and West Coast of Vancouver Island.
But scientists are lately questioning whether the migratory stocks always stay true to their origin.
"There seems to be significant mixing back and forth," Gordon said. "There's been DNA testing done for years, but it hasn't proven anything conclusive."
Gordon noted that herreing are "broadcast spawners," with eggs being fertilized randomly by clouds of milt floating in the water.
That makes DNA tracking sketchy at best.
"It's not like tracking down the one mad cow," Gordon said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright The
Westerly News, a Canwest Company. Reproduction of this article
or photographs, in whole or in part, is illegal without the written consent
of The Westerly News (westnews@ukeecable.net).
The Westerly News is published each Wednesday in Ucluelet. Phone: 250
726-7029
home
> fisheries
> article
