People should stop fishing on the Gorge

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Re: Where have all the herring gone? (News, Feb. 13)

Andrew Paine, founder of the Salish Sea Herring Enhancement Society, said, “We did lots of visits around the Gorge ... we didn’t see any spawning activity in the Gorge.”

He also said, “The herring are the building blocks pretty much of our whole ecosystem. The herring feed the salmon, they feed the ling cod, they feed the seals, that feeds the orcas and everything.” He said, “(They) really are a keystone species in our ecosystem. It is really sad we are losing populations like the Gorge herring. Once they are gone, are they ever going to come back?”

I, too, am really sad about this situation. Two causes are cited as being the possible causes: overfishing and creosote on the pilings and other structures.

Covering the creosote with landscaping cloth to protect the fish and eggs from the poisons may be an effective solution, I think.

What about overfishing? It strikes me as disheartening and ridiculous to see the picture of two adult fishermen with their fishing rods on the Craigflower bridge with the headline on the photo, “Where have all the herring gone?”

For crying out loud, where would one expect they have gone except into the buckets that they put the fish into, to die so they can be used as bait fish to go and catch bigger fish.

Why not just stop fishing the Gorge? Look at what has happened to the cod fishery on our East Coast – it is gone. I guess this is too complicated for people to understand and then follow up on.

It is the ignorance of too many people that is ruining our planet.

Tony Lovano

Saanich