Dear Minister Thompson,
The attached letter to you is part of a long-standing effort to bring DFO’s mismanagement of the Pacific herring fishery to the Minister’s attention, and to achieve a pause in harvesting in both the winter and spring fisheries, so the dangerously declining herring stocks can recover on our coast.
We have discussed our concerns with MPs Elizabeth May and Gord Johns, who have both recently met with you on this issue. We hope to share our views with MP Patrick Weiler, Chair of FOPO and MP Earnie Klassen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
The W̱SÁNEĆ Hereditary Chiefs, led by WIĆKINEM (Eric Pelkey) hereditary chief of the Tsawout Nation, are seeking a legal opinion from John Rich of Ratcliff LLP, on a breach to their Douglas Treaty rights. Many ENGO organizations are currently supporting this initiative, including ourselves, the Herring Conservation and Restoration Society (HCRS). This follows the W̱SÁNEĆ Hereditary Chiefs’ 2024 Herring Declaration calling for a moratorium of the commercial herring fishery. We are in discussion with other First Nations who may also publicly share their positions on protecting the herring stocks.
The W̱SÁNEĆ Hereditary Chiefs, together with the HCRS, have organized the last two HELIT TŦE SȽOṈ,ET (Let the Herring Live) forums, bringing together First Nations, fishery scientists, health professionals and ENGOs, and joins Conservancy Hornby Island’s annual HerringFest, to focus attention on protecting the herring and the marine ecosystem they sustain.
We hope you will give the attached letter, with its background references, your full attention and look forward to discussing our concerns with you and your colleagues.
Sincerely,
Dorrance Woodward
Herring Conservation Restoration Society
https://savetheherring.org/
For further information contact:
Chief Eric Pelkey, hereditary chief of the Tsawout Nation and a member of the WSANEC hereditary chiefs, HCRS director, eric.pelkey@wsanec.com
Dr. Briony Penn, Treasurer HCRS, info@savetheherring.org
To read the full 4-page letter including research citations, please click below: