Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0014 Sent January 8, 2020 at 0943 In 2016, after years of hard-fought battles and many more months of negotiation, the Heiltsuk Nation announced it had signed a Joint Management Plan with DFO for herring within their traditional territory. Both fisheries have since been strictly regulated. Previously announced herring fishery openings for fixed and mobile gear in Placentia Bay and Fortune Bay are included with this closure. Canada should be trying to keep as many herring in the ocean as possible, only harvesting them when nature provides a surplus. The development of an almost unlimited world market for herring meal and oil, plus major advances in fishing technology, led to overfishing of Pacific stocks 1956-66, when annual catches usually exceeded 200 000 t, and of Atlantic stocks 1968-71, when Canadian catches exceeded 400 000 t annually. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is gambling with a public resource when it comes to herring fishery management. Companies using the label all along the supply chain have been assessed to ensure products can be traced back to an MSC certified fishery. Herring populations are so important yet so variable that managing them in a conventional way is too risky. However, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) continues to open the industrial “sac roe” fishery, even against the recommendations of its own scientists. The Regional Director General, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Region gives notice that Variation Orders 2020-20 and 2020-21 have been revoked and Variation Orders 2020-022 and 2020-023 come into effect at 2200 hours on March 27, 2020. Vessel designation and pool selection is NOT available for the Herring Seine fishery until further notice. MSC labelled herring comes from a fishery that has been independently assessed to the MSC Fisheries Standard. Client support will be available via e-mail ([email protected]) or toll-free telephone (1-877-535-7307). At least a quarter of major fish stocks in Canada are in decline, but efforts to rebuild them — such as closing fisheries or setting catch limits — are often met with strong opposition due to negative socioeconomic effects. Herring is mostly processed for smoking, curing or canning, but fresh herring is excellent fried, grilled or boiled.