Herring, slhawt' in the Skwxwú7mesh language, are complicated characters.
Soon, in late February and peaking in March, the herring spawn will return to coastal shores, including Howe Sound.
Jake Dingwall, a master’s student at the University of Victoria, is studying the drivers of herring spawning habitat loss. He also works with the Pacific Salmon Foundation on its multi-year collaborative project on salmon-herring interactions.
Growing up in Maple Ridge, he didn't know much about herring, but when he started to learn more, he was blown away.
"Oh, my God, it is so complicated and so important that it just sucked me in completely," he said, of what he learned through his master's program.
"Herring underpin basically the whole marine ecosystem in the Strait of Georgia, and to an extent the Pacific Northwest. They're the most important prey," he said, adding that studies show if chinook salmon don't have access to plentiful herring, they don't grow as large, which in turn impacts orcas.
"Everything eats herring, so it's hugely important prey in the ecosystem. Obviously, [herring are also ] very important for First Nations. Through the centuries, First Nations have relied on herring as the first return of food after a really long winter, and it's just so plentiful, packed with calories—very important."
He added that work by S岣祑x瘫wú7mesh Úxwumixw (麻豆社国产Nation) to monitor herring is vital.
Herring, especially when they spawn, are also inspiring, he said.
"I say it is almost like they're flamboyant with the way that they just take this whole shoreline and just cover it in this sparkling white. And I think if you see that, you're never going to forget that, and you're going to hopefully feel a little bit more connected to herring and the seasonality of our waters, and try to do your part."
First, some herring facts
Dingwall explained that pacific herring in the Strait of Georgia are split into two groups: the resident and migratory populations.
"It's likely that the residents used to be much greater in number but have been reduced over time by fisheries," he said.
"Now, we are dominated by the migratory stock."
Starting in the fall, the migratory herring return from the west coast off of Tofino and area and hide deep in the Strait of Georgia. Then, they surge into the nearshore environment in the spring, just prior to spawning, to check out their spawning grounds.
Dingwall said herring are a bit like kids in high school, they follow the popular "kid."
They don’t return by smell or in ways other fish like salmon do, but they are guided by wiser, older herring, he said, adding that this is still debated in Western scientific literature.
"The way I think of it is, it's a class of high schoolers coming to a food court, and there are all these options. Some are healthy, some are cheap, some are expensive, some are slow, and some are fast. And it tends to be the more popular kids who drive that decision for where they go," he said.
Then, the females will start to lay eggs in the millions, and the males will release their milt into the "iconic" clouds.
"As soon as they spawn, they’re out of there to head off to their feeding grounds on the West Coast," he said.
The eggs will incubate for about three weeks on marine vegetation, hatch into larvae and drift, then grow into juveniles, which school for almost two years before becoming adults and spawning.
Herring don’t die when they spawn; they can live up to 15 years.
"Although this is very uncommon, as—well—they get eaten a lot," Dingwall said.
Spawning at Woodfibre LNG
The annual has found spawning at the Woodfibre LNG-Foulger Creek site.
So, how could the construction of the project impact herring?
The increased light on the construction site, or at any project, may be a negative, but that isn't conclusive, according to Dingwall.
"Increased light may make it easier for herring to find their planktonic food," Dingwall said.
"However, predators of herring are mostly visual predators. So, during the day, herring typically dive into the darkness to hide and rise at night during the darkness to feed on prey... If there are large amounts of light, predators may be more active and able to hunt better. I think overall ... it’s pretty disruptive of the whole ecosystem and likely a negative."
That said, he acknowledged that when it comes to spawning, herring do it during the day, "so it's not likely to impact spawning, at least at the moment."
"Who knows if it makes it less attractive to them ... We may look into [the issue] during my thesis," he added.
What about the paint on the hull of the floatel—large cruise ship—MV Isabelle X, on site to accommodate the workers?
Dingwall said that paint from boats is a well-known source of chemical contamination.
"In my thesis, we are gathering samples to look for these contaminants and combing the literature to try and see if they impact herring. Usually, concerns are mounted around marinas or places with many boats for a long time. I think if the cruise ship remains for a long period we could start to see some leachate into the environment," he said.
What do herring need to thrive?
Dingwall says that what herrings need to thrive is pretty simple: a clean undisturbed place to spawn.
Going back to Dingwall's metaphor of herring being like kids in high school, though, some can thrive hanging out with the smokers or vapers, though it is not ideal.
"Herring are resilient, and they can make do with poorer conditions, but ultimately, if you want the herring to come back year after year, we need to make sure they have a clean, quiet, undisturbed place to spawn with lots of algae and eelgrass."
He said from his own yet-to-be-published research, more eggs are laid when there's more underwater vegetation.
"So this is things like eelgrass ... particularly in Howe Sound, I think a lot of rockweed is really important. Red algae, flat kelp, sugar kelp, things like that," he said.
“Not bull kelp, but other kelps are important. And even sargassum, which is an invasive algae, is very important to them. And we know that when there's more algae, there's more spawn."
Very turbid water is also not good for herring, he added.
"I know with construction, there's a tendency for a lot of siltation and sedimentation being plowed off into the nearshore environment. So that's something that they don't really like," he said.
What could project managers and locals do to help herring?
Asked how projects, like Woofibre LNG, could help herring, Dingwall said project managers could try to reduce boat noise, reduce white light at night, ensure no chemical contaminants enter the water, reduce the amount of sand and mud that gets into the water, and reduce activity during the spawn.
"Because it's not just the herring we need to think about. It’s also all the marine mammals, seabirds, crabs, bears, raccoons, coyotes, and other animals that rely on the herring spawn for food after a long winter," he said.
Woodfibre LNG conducts biweekly herring spawn surveys
Woodfibre LNG spokesperson Sean Beardow told The 麻豆社国产 that the company understands the special responsibility it has operating in Átlk’a7tsem (Howe Sound), “including helping to safeguard marine species that call it home. We recognize that herring are an ecologically significant species for the region as well as culturally significant for 麻豆社国产Nation.”
Beardow said Woodfibre staff perform herring spawn surveys on a biweekly basis from mid-February through to the end of June every year across the project site.
The company shares all its survey data with the Marine Stewardship Initiative, a research and engagement organization that gathers marine information to help inform decision-making and collaborative management of Howe Sound.
“Woodfibre LNG takes precautionary measures for any in-water work to mitigate impacts. For example, all in-water construction activities are surrounded by silt curtains to prevent sedimentation entering the marine environment. Water quality testing is completed multiple times per day in the vicinity of active works,” Beardow added.
“The pre-construction remediation of the legacy industrial project site also involved the removal of hundreds of creosote-treated piles from the previous Woodfibre pulp mill. These piles would have been unfavourable to herring spawn.”
As the project moves forward, Woodfibre LNG plans to pursue additional work to improve fish habitat near the project site and in Howe Sound in general, according to Beardow.
What can you do?
As for the public and how it can help protect herring, keeping a distance during the spawn is important, Dingwall said.
Don't drive a boat up to it, for example.
He also said that just knowing about herring and their importance is the first step.
"The more people who are tuned into the seasonality of our oceans, the better. In fact, go see the spawn if you can, this spring," he said.
"[But] during the spawning period, just leave them alone. Don't drive your boat around them. That's a really big one. Obviously, watching from shore is fine, and I encourage that because I think when people get out there and see the herring, they feel more connected to it."
