WILDERNESS COMMITTEE PLANS EXPEDITION TO OBSERVE ROE "GOLD RUSH" FISHERY IN GEORGIA STRAIT BY HORNBY ISLAND
It was like a crazy circus during the 1998 rush to catch the herring spawning between Hornby and Denman Islands, the last place in Georgia Strait where herring are still found in great numbers. Gillnetters were making set after set, straining through tiny herring in a desperate effort to get their quota. Enough fish of catchable size just weren't there. Some boats tried to cheat, using smaller mesh than allowed.
Even many oldtimer fishers privately admitted that the fishery had gone too far. Knowing that the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is planning to allow a herring fishery this year despite the obvious crisis, the Wilderness Committee is chartering a boat to observe and document on slides and video the 1999 herring fishery. The Committee is appealing to its members and friends to support this front-line campaign tactic, estimated to cost $5,000. All those who help out with a donation of $100 or more will receive a copy of the video documentary of the expedition and a copy of the report the Wilderness Committee makes to the Federal Fisheries Minister.
