Nuu-chah-nulth Nations issued an open letter to BC herring fishers today asking those considering taking part in the 2014 commercial herring fishery to fish elsewhere. Closed since 2006 on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the commercial herring fishery is expected to open again in 2014.
Although not opposed to a commercial fishery in times of abundance, the nations fear that new methods of assessment are unproven and that a 2014 fishery on the west coast of Vancouver Island is premature.
The nations “request that commercial herring fishermen DO NOT select [West Coast Vancouver Island] WCVI as a herring fishing area in 2014. If you choose to fish WCVI in 2014, you make this area selection knowing the risk that there may not be enough herring to conduct viable commercial fisheries, and that Nuu-chah-nulth Nations will continue to be active in seeking to protect WCVI herring.”
