For the past two years, the Federal Fisheries Minister tried to open the commercial roe herring fisheries on the West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) despite continued Nuu-chah-nulth concerns about low herring abundance. The actions of the Fisheries Minister led to a Federal Court injunction in 2014 and protest activities in 2015. What will you and your party do to respect Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge about herring, to avoid the confrontations of 2014 and 2015, and to ensure conservation and sustainability of WCVI herring?
John Duncan’s response: The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for determining herring roe abundance and maturity for determining openings and closures. Their mandate includes ensuring that any harvest is carried sustainably.
The fishery rules should be based on biology and science and not politics, and it is my interest to ensure that this is how decisions are made.
