Dire Strait? Minister shuts down call to cancel west coast herring fishery
NANAIMO — Repeated calls to shut down the final commercial herring fishery on the west coast were rejected by the federal government.
Courtenay-Alberni New Democrat MP Gord Johns challenged minister Jonathan Wilkinson in the House of Commons Thursday on the need to close the fishery in the Strait of Georgia due to a lack of supply.
Johns said herring are a critical part of the area’s ecosystem, providing a food source for local salmon, which in turn feed endangered southern resident killer whales.
“If a moratorium is not enforced to protect this critical food source and to allow the stocks to rebuild, we’re endangering this interdependent species,” Johns said during Question Period.