It is herring time on the coast of B.C. The herring migrate to certain parts of the coast to lay eggs (spawn) close to shore. It is the ideal time to catch them for their roe.
The seiners didn’t have far to go to set their nets this year. Less than a half hour’s run from town, they put their huge nets in the water and encircled the schools of herring with a huge purse seine net.
The small skiff helps anchor one end of the net while the seiner runs around in a circle, unrolling the huge net into the water. The white floats on the top of the net help us to see where the net is. Their job is to keep the top of the net afloat. The bottom of the net has heavy lead rings tied to it through which a line passes. It is like a drawstring that closes the net so fish can’t escape through the bottom.
In the photo below, the red boat has already closed its net. Seagulls circle, hoping to lunch on unfortunate escapees. The boat next to the red seiner might be a packer, standing by to take the load onto his boat and then to market.
The herring could be scooped out of the net with a huge brailer, like a long-handled fish net, or in some cases, the herring are sucked out of the net and onto the packer or into the hold of the seiner with a kind of (very large) vacuum that slurps up the fish and seawater and pumps it all into the hold of the waiting boat. The seawater is pumped out of the boat leaving only the herring behind in a big strainer.
To unload them, the process is reversed and water is added to the hold to enable the vacuum to suck the herring out of the boat.
The boat on the right side of the photo has just paid out the net in a circle to try for a catch of herring. See the white floats?
The farther boat in the photo below has hauled a catch over to the boat. You can see the seagulls going crazy with the feeding opportunities it provides for them.
Fishing for herring is hard work. In late February and even in March the weather can be raw and brutal, especially on the water.
I took the photos of the seiners from the deck of my house, so they are quite far away. The very next day, I took the photo below, of the same view, but the boats are not visible through the snow clouds. I hope no one was fishing that day.
I like to eat pickled herring, but I’ve learned that the food herring are caught in the winter (maybe November) when they are fattest. In the spring roe fishery, the herring are skinnier and are caught mainly for their roe, highly prized in the Japanese market (at least prized by the older generation). I’ve heard it suggested that the younger Japanese generation prefers McDonalds. Not much of a choice, to my mind.
In case you are wondering what happens to the rest of the herring after they are stripped of their roe … fish fertilizer.
March 16, 2020 at 1:26 am
Very interesting, thanks for the lesson!
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March 16, 2020 at 9:07 am
It’s often such terrible weather at this time that I feel sorry for the people who work on the boats. The openings are quite short too, so they often work at all hours.
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March 16, 2020 at 5:08 am
Herring on our mind 🙂
Cheers !
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March 16, 2020 at 9:03 am
Yes! The timing was right.
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March 16, 2020 at 7:40 am
Thanks, Anneli, for the enlightening article.
I love pickled herring, too, but down here it’s hard to get.
Stay safe,
Pit
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March 16, 2020 at 9:05 am
I can understand that, since it seems to be a northern fish. But most Europeans love pickled herring, so it doesn’t surprise me that you do too. I learned to love it from my parents who loved it before they came to Canada. It’s not such a big hit here, but if you have it in your history, you can’t not love it.
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March 16, 2020 at 11:49 am
I still remember the times in my childhood when I was sent to some people in the neighbourhood who sold pickled herrings out of big barrels.
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March 16, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Those were interesting times. I remember barrels of gingerbread cookies, and barrels of Senfgurken (pickled cucumbers). The herring would have been wonderful, I’m sure!
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March 16, 2020 at 2:34 pm
And jars with pickled hard-boiled eggs!
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March 16, 2020 at 4:44 pm
Another favourite of mine!
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March 17, 2020 at 6:55 am
Oh those happy childhood memories! )
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March 16, 2020 at 11:14 am
Wow, it gets really wobbly when you zoom in so close, and you did a great job with those photos. The view from your deck is awesome.
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March 16, 2020 at 12:18 pm
Yes, they aren’t the greatest photos because of the distance, but I thought you might still see the main activities. The view is nice most of the time, thanks.
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March 16, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Interesting post, nothing seems wasted either.
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March 16, 2020 at 1:52 pm
No, nothing wasted. Each year the number of uninformed protesters grows, but the fishermen are the last people on Earth who want to kill their own livelihood. It is a well-managed fishery.
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March 16, 2020 at 9:29 pm
Such a beautiful part of the world.
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March 16, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Thanks, Cindy. It has a lot going for it. No place is perfect, but we like it here.
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March 17, 2020 at 2:02 pm
Interesting post! I can see how the work can be challenging with long hours outside, while dealing with changing weather conditions.
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March 17, 2020 at 3:38 pm
And the long hours of waiting for the openings and running (the boats) here and there to be in the right place for those short openings.
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March 23, 2020 at 4:25 am
Very interesting! I always learn something new with you. Thanks, Anneli! 🙂
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March 23, 2020 at 7:41 am
Thanks, Jennie. That’s so nice to hear. Keep well.
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March 26, 2020 at 2:22 pm
Anneli reporting and educating on the herring industry in B.C. Waters is your best of the best wordsfromanneli. Danish background in our family, and pickled herring served with pickled onions on dark rye seed bread, a yummy tradition. Costco carry Jars of delicious pickled herring. Like the facts. Fatter herring caught in November for food; herring caught in spring for eggs to go to Japan and fish become fertilizer for our gardens. Cheers to the hardy, hardworking fishermen!
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March 26, 2020 at 7:12 pm
Thanks, Marsha. If you like eating herring, it makes the post more interesting. When I deckhanded for the Captain and saw him throw back the herring that accidentally bit the hook, I told him to keep the next herring he caught and we’d eat it. Sure was good!
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