The MCC has repeatedly expressed concern regarding changes to the distribution of herring spawn in the Strait of Georgia (SoG), and the lack of consideration for this issue in the current assessment and management approach. We understand that this concern is shared by many stakeholders and First Nations in the SoG. For this reason, the…
The David Suzuki Foundation and the MCC have repeatedly expressed deep concern regarding the state of herring spawning in the Strait of Georgia. The herring fishery has undergone substantial truncation in both spatial and temporal extent, such that spawning is now minimal south of Dodd Narrows and concentrated in March. In 2024, the temporal extent…
In our previous letter for the proposed 2023/2024 Food & Bait and Special Use fisheries, we provided the rationale for a closure of commercial herring fisheries in Area 17, a cap on the proportion of the Strait of Georgia (SoG) Total Allowable Catch (TAC) that is allocated to the Food & Bait fishery, and a maximum 7%…
On November 13, 2023, the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC) submitted the following letter in response to the draft 2022/2023 Pacific herring Food & Bait and Special Use (FB/SU) commercial fishery plans. In this submission, we reiterate our concern regarding the ongoing loss of herring spawning in the southern Strait of Georgia, with a specific…
The MCC has submitted feedback on the 2022/2023 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for Pacific Herring. The main points are summarized below and the letter is provided for more details. Strait of Georgia: We reiterate our position that Strait of Georgia (SoG) herring are showing several signs of concern, and that these issues, when considered together,…
On November 16, 2022, the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC) submitted the following letter in response to the draft 2022/2023 Pacific herring Food & Bait and Special Use (FB/SU) commercial fishery plans. Unlike previous years, the draft 2022/2023 FB/SU plans do not include an initial amount for proposed quota allocations to these fisheries. Therefore, we…