Thousands of dead herring dumped off coast of Vancouver Island, conservationists say

A conservation group that's longopposed the B.C. herring fishery says it suspectsafishing vessel has dumped a load of thesmall fish in Deep Bay, near Bowser on Vancouver Island.

Members of the Hornby IslandConservancy say they got an anonymous tip on Friday that a commercial fishing vessel had dumped its load of netted herring after a packing vessel had refused itscatch.

The conservationists say they sent a diver down to gathervideo footage and they are now sharingimages of dead fish, whichappear to be herring, littering the sea floor.

Grant Scott, who works withthe conservation group, estimates the dump could include as manyas 45,000 fish, depending on how big the fishing vessel was that allegedly dumped the load.

But whatever the loss, he says, it's a shame.

WATCH | Conservationists dive off coast of Vancouver Island, find thousands of dead herring

Conservationists say they've found evidence of a large herring dump off Vancouver Island

3 years ago

Duration 3:26

Conservancy Hornby Island members say as many as 45,000 fish were dumped by a fishing vessel in Deep Bay, near Bowser, B.C.

"These fish could have gone out and spawned six, seven or eight times more. Every herring female spawns 20,000 eggs. That's the sadness to us, is that there's a loss of those potential fish in the future. It's a waste," said Scott.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said itis aware of the alleged dumping incident in Deep Bay and fishery officers areinvestigating as commercial fishers are prohibited from dumping any catch from a vessel.

"DFO is committed to managing Pacific herring fisheries to ensure that there are enough herring to spawn and sustain the stock into the future and support the species' role in the ecosystem," the department said in a statement.

Scottbelieves DFOwillbe checkingvideo from dock cameras to try to determine which vessel or vesselsmay have been involved in thealleged fish dump.

The spring herring fisheryhaslong been a source of tension with concerns about over-fishingstraining alreadyfragile herring stocks in B.C. and other parts of Canada.

Last week there was a renewed call for a herring fisherymoratorium by a coalition of First Nations leaders, theTla'amin and WSANEC Leadership Council, backed by 53 municipalities, MP Gord Johns and 160,000 petitioners.

Conservationists sayDFOestimates show the Pacificherring population dwindling to 60 per cent of previous levels, between2016 and 2020.

The Strait of Georgia is theonlyzone off B.C. shores right now able to support a commercial herring roe fishery, according to DFO.

In spring, adult herring gather in suchmass numbers to spawn on B.C.'s coastal shores that the males' milt turns the water light green.Females lay their sticky eggs on seaweed and roughrocks. The small fish are food for everything from sea birds to salmon and some orcas, marine mammals and whales.

Herring products such as roe are sold in Japan, where it's considered a delicacy, and also in some smaller markets in China and the U.S.