{"id":1023,"date":"2026-09-17T17:46:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetheherring.org\/?p=1023"},"modified":"2026-09-17T17:54:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:54:57","slug":"why-older-herring-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savetheherring.org\/?p=1023","title":{"rendered":"Why Older Herring Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pacific herring conservation may depend on more than simply maintaining enough fish. “Age structure and diversity of herring populations are essential,” says Dorrance Woodward, Denman Island resident and chair of the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS). Woodward has spent years learning about and advocating for the marine ecosystem around Denman Island, where the spectacular annual herring spawn supports an extraordinary concentration of marine life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacific herring can live for more than a decade, but heavily exploited populations can become dominated by younger fish. A population composed largely of two-, three- and four-year-olds may therefore function differently from one containing a broad range of ages, even if overall biomass appears relatively high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Tavish Campbell Photography.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Woodward describes older herring as “elders” that maintain the younger fishes’ connection to their traditional spawning areas. Recent research confirms Traditional Indigenous Knowledge of the role of older fish and shows that decimation of the elders within the stock causes “fishery induced memory loss” leading to the abandonment of spawning grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herring once spawned at many sites around the Salish Sea where spawning is now greatly reduced or absent. Woodward promotes protecting remaining populations long enough to rebuild abundance and age diversity in order to help herring recolonize former spawning areas. As populations approach the carrying capacity of existing habitat, some fish may disperse and establish spawning in other suitable locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Tavish Campbell Photography.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Restoration efforts have also experimented with providing spawning substrate and moving fertilized eggs, but recovery can be slow. Woodward believes protecting existing populations and allowing them to rebuild may ultimately help herring expand naturally into former spawning areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fisheries science is now catching up with Traditional Indigenous Ecological Knowledge that age structure and spatial diversity, not just biomass, lead to persistent local spawning populations. Protecting older fish and robust spawning aggregations may help preserve the biological diversity and resilience needed for herring populations to recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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