The Sea Shepherd crew have been on the ground and in boats documenting this year’s roe herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia. The sea lion shot in the head that washed up on Hornby Island on Tuesday leaves no doubt about the abuse of pinnipeds our crew has been observing on the water.
The seine fleet has failed to meet its quotas several years in a row. Sea Shepherd has witnessed test seines pursuing juvenile fish, with many floating on the surface belly up once the seine is released. With the seine fleet closing at 7,178 tons, and the gillnet fleet scraping up the leftovers and having trouble after four full days of setting nets to reach a quota of 11,300 tons, how can Fisheries and Oceans be so certain that this fishery is taking only 20 per cent of the biomass in the Strait of Georgia. Where are the fish? This fishery used to open and close in hours, not days.
For the sea lions, the Strait of Georgia herring spawn is one of the last places they can feed. They come from far and wide to find food. Who can blame them when the other herring runs are gone?