Herring Conservation & Restoration Society
OUR MIssion
Dedicated to preserving herring populations and their vital role in the marine ecosystem, the Herring Conservation and Restoration Society strives to foster open, respectful, and timely conversations about herring conservation and restoration. Through community engagement, advocacy efforts, and the promotion of sustainable fishing practices, we aim to protect herring habitats and advocate for their conservation.
Image credit: Moonfish Media
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About Our Society
The Herring Conservation and Restoration Society is a new non-profit dedicated to conserving and restoring local resident herring populations in British Columbia, to bring these important fish back to the abundant levels enjoyed by coastal communities before contact. This is the first organization in the province dedicated exclusively to showcasing the collective local conservation and restoration efforts for herring.
Our goals:
- Provide opportunities for open, respectful, and timely conversation about herring conservation and restoration.
- Promote herring conservation and restoration.
- Run a digital Herring Journal newsletter that showcases herring conservation and restoration research and grassroots efforts and provides updates on commercial fisheries activities.
- Support a moratorium on commercial fisheries to rebuild local populations.
- Present a community response each year during the herring harvest consultation period.
- Push Fisheries and Oceans Canada to produce a herring restoration plan.
- Have community-based, non-industry representatives at the herring harvest planning table.
- Support Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s planned transition away from fish farms in British Columbia.
Donate Today!
Help Save the Herring
The Herring Conservation and Restoration Society is a grassroots organization solely dedicated to protecting Pacific herring and ensuring their abundance for future generations. We believe that through local conservation and restoration efforts, we can make a significant impact on herring populations.
Your donation will directly support our ongoing efforts to conserve and restore herring populations in British Columbia. With your help, we can bring back these important fish to the abundant levels enjoyed by our ancestors before contact.
Let’s work together to make a positive change for our oceans and coastal communities. Your contribution, no matter how big or small, will make a difference.
Thank you for your support.
The Herring Journal
The Herring Journal features the work of herring protectors along the BC coast, along with their successes, knowledge, and recommendations for future action. Our mandate is to provide opportunities for open, respectful, and timely conversation about herring conservation and restoration. We see it as a practical and educational resource, serving communities who love and rely on the herring. We want this newsletter to become a trusted place for finding:
- the latest research from herring researchers and knowledge keepers,
- activities of coastal groups who work on herring conservation and restoration,
- seasonal updates on herring fisheries and fish farm policy,
- guidance and tips for bringing forward comments and concerns to herring managers and decision-makers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Read herring stories
Latest Herring Stories
The WSÁNEĆ Hereditary Chiefs have asked me to post their Pacific Herring Declaration in preparation for their November 13th stand against the commercial fisheries of...
Join us on February 13 for HELIT TŦE SȽOṈ,ET (Let the Herring Live) – the 2nd annual Herring Symposium hosted by the W̱SÁNEĆ Hereditary Chiefs in partnership with the...
The Coal Harbour Marina in Burrard Inlet is home to intact eelgrass beds, a natural spawning ground historically used by herring. The Squamish Streamkeepers, led by...
Once again, Fulford Harbour, WENNANEC, had no sizeable herring spawn—for close on the 40th year in a row. It is always a disappointment because no herring in Fulford...
In early March, the test boats could only find about a third of the 84,000 tons predicted by DFO. The fish eventually appeared, but it raised yet more questions...
The Searching for Slhawt’ - Herring Spawn Survey Program was born of stories from Skwxwu7mesh elders, the excitement of learning. From the beginning, it was clear...
SOG Herring Spawn The annual herring spawn in the Strait of Georgia never ceases to amaze both residents and tourists alike with its display of wildlife and natural...
A Little Bit About Us The Herring Conservation and Restoration Society (HCRS) is a newly established non-profit organization...
Our Team
We are happy to introduce you to the Board of the Herring Conservation and Restoration Society!
jim shortreed
President
Jim learned to rake herring from his uncle in Pender Harbour and quickly learned Chinook are fat and plentiful under herring. He believes more herring feed more Chinook feed more whales. He believes the only known way to restore herring is to conserve them, so let’s pause the fisheries until stocks recover.
Grant Scott
Vice President
Grant Scott began commercial fishing in 1971 on a small family salmon troller, the Wandelaine, alongside his wife. Over the years, he witnessed a significant decline in most fish populations, particularly herring and salmon. Since moving to Hornby Island, he has been active in educating the public about herring’s importance as a forage fish for all aquatic species and advocated for the closure of the commercial herring roe fishery to aid stock recovery. He has often said it is unbelievable how our Department of Fisheries and Oceans has allowed and even encouraged overfishing. He believes collective efforts are crucial to conserve and revive this valuable species.
Briony Penn
Treasurer
Briony Penn is a fifth-generation islander who witnessed the extirpation of resident herring spawns from overfishing in her home harbour of Fulford in the 80s. Through her work as a naturalist on the coast, an educator in both university and community classrooms and an author and illustrator of award-winning books on the coast and its custodians, she has spoken out against the commercial herring fishery and fish farms for over 30 years. “The only way to stop the silent spring of the coast is to restore herring populations back to the levels that existed prior to colonization.”
Matthew Van Oostdam
Director
Matthew Van Oostdam is a settler and school teacher at St’a7mes School in Squamish, BC. The majority of his time is spent on the land with youth, harvesting salmon and learning from community members. When he is not doing this or riding bikes up the mountains with the menmen tl’a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh mountain bike team, he runs the Atl’ka7tsem Searching for Slhawt’ Program. With guidance from Skwxwu7mesh elders and the Squamish community, Matthew and his friends document the spatial and temporal distribution of herring spawn throughout the northern Howe Sound region. In conjunction with this work, Matthew shares his herring discoveries and other ocean sightings with his students through puppet shows and letters from Harriet the Herring.
Vanessa Minke-Martin
Director
Vanessa Minke-Martin grew up in southern Ontario and is now a settler on Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ territory. A former fish biologist with a master of science from the University of British Columbia, she has advocated for herring conservation in the Salish Sea for over five years. Vanessa is an editor at Hakai Magazine, where she was shortlisted as a Best Emerging Writer by Canada’s National Magazine Awards in 2023.
Mara Hanneson
Director
Mara Hanneson was raised on Vancouver Island, the territory of the Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ, where she continues to live, work and play. She is a student at the University of Victoria, where she is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Biology. When she isn’t studying, Mara spends her time exploring the coast and forests, enjoying the plentiful flora and fauna of the West Coast. As a developing bird scientist, Mara recognizes the conservation and restoration of herring is essential for supporting a multitude of avian species.
Harriet the Herring
Honorary Board Member
Harriet is a Herring. She is a magnificent fish with big eyelashes who travels throughout the Salish Sea with her Aunty Sata7. If you are lucky, she sends you letters using her shellphone and shares with you the teachings from her herring school. She writes letters to the kids at St’a7mes school and lets them know when the sea lions are in town, who are feeding on the herring and asks them to celebrate the return of the herring with a great feast and gathering to place hemlock and cedar boughs in the water.