The seiners wait in the harbour for the signal that the herring are fat enough, with a high enough roe count, to allow the roe herring fishery to proceed.
Rafts of sea lions are waiting too. They will take advantage of the herring being “rounded up” in the purse seines of the big boats. Many herring “escape,” right into the waiting jaws of these huge mammals.
Some of them like the fishy smell coming from small power boats and are trying to investigate up close.
Seagulls wheel around the seiners trying to grab any herring that swims too close to the surface.
This immature eagle is about to find out that the beach will be full of bounty as roe and herring and bycatch float ashore. These foods provide much-needed calories for the eagles especially at their nesting time, which happens very soon after the herring fishery. Healthy eagles will have healthy chicks.
And let’s not forget that as much as we scoff at seagulls and their shrieking habits, they are the janitors of the beaches, cleaning up every bit of mess.
Once the carnage has been cleaned up, the animals have to scrounge what food they can until next year’s feast.
March 12, 2021 at 9:17 pm
Wow, beautiful photography and thoughts, Anneli, thanks. 😍😎🇨🇦
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March 12, 2021 at 11:20 pm
Tnx, John. 🙂
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March 12, 2021 at 9:26 pm
Wonderful and so scenic. I love them! დ
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March 12, 2021 at 11:20 pm
Thanks, Cindy. Lots of activity this time of year.
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March 13, 2021 at 12:53 am
It´s fun to see the sea lions snuggling together. Very interesting pictures. Thanks for sharing Anneli!
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March 13, 2021 at 9:23 am
I know the fishermen hate them but I like to see them just the same.
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March 13, 2021 at 12:59 am
The sea lions are so huge! Great photos. 🙂
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March 13, 2021 at 9:23 am
Found this: Adult males may be up to 11 feet long and can weigh up to 2,500 pounds. Adult females are 7.5 to 9.5 feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds.
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March 13, 2021 at 9:27 am
That’s a good reason to keep your distance. 🙂
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March 13, 2021 at 9:28 am
Oh, I do! They get quite brazen on the local dock where I took some of the pictures. They even try to climb aboard some of the smaller power boats.
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March 13, 2021 at 3:06 pm
Climb aboard power boats?? Wow! I knew they are aggressive, but my!
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March 13, 2021 at 6:06 pm
Oops! I may have given you the wrong impression. These are power boats that are tied to the dock – not in motion.
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March 13, 2021 at 6:21 pm
I’ve just added a photo that shows them trying to do this – at the end of the sea lion pics.
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March 13, 2021 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for explaining. 🙂 Nothing will stand between them and their dinner!
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March 13, 2021 at 7:54 pm
Thanks for the photo – I get what you mean now. I did envision sea lions trying to climb aboard a moving power boat!
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March 13, 2021 at 2:37 am
Gorgeous shots, Anneli!
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March 13, 2021 at 9:24 am
Thanks, Jill. It’s a busy time of year around here.
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March 13, 2021 at 7:13 am
Herring! Makes me long for the pckled herring I used to eat in Germany.
Thanks, Anneli, for the pictures and the information.
Have a great weekend,
Pit
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March 13, 2021 at 9:40 am
I love pickled herring too, Pit, but unfortunately this time of year the herring are caught for their roe, and are not so fat for humans to enjoy. The pickled herring fishery happens around November. I remember being disappointed when I first found out that these spring herring are not great for pickling.
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March 13, 2021 at 1:12 pm
Thanks for the additional info, Anneli. I didn’t know the difference between “spring herring” and “November herring”.
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March 13, 2021 at 2:20 pm
They are certainly edible, but the fatter ones are fished later in the year.
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March 13, 2021 at 10:01 am
Now that I’ve answered that this is not the ideal time for pickling herring, we’re going to try cooking up a couple of fillets of herring that a friend gave us this morning.
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March 13, 2021 at 7:33 am
Not a good day to be a herring!
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March 13, 2021 at 9:38 am
Around here, it’s never a good day to be a herring. Everything wants to eat it.
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March 13, 2021 at 10:01 am
My husband likes them. Not so much me so I’ll provide a safe zone for them!
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March 13, 2021 at 10:03 am
When I wrote this post and realized how the predators all line up to get their share, I thought of your books and how the animals stand around waiting for their turn at a kill. Life hasn’t changed all that much in 800,000 years.
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March 13, 2021 at 7:41 am
Great post! What a joy to see the excitement of the herring drawing humans and boats, sea lions and sea birds. There is something sacred about the herring season, and you captured it well here with your words and photos, Anneli.
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March 13, 2021 at 9:30 am
Thank you, Jet. It’s surprising when you think about the many birds and other animals who compete for the cast-offs of this fishery.
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March 13, 2021 at 7:55 am
Interesting reading, Anneli. So much depends on this fishery. I particularly like the fishing boats and gull photos.
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March 13, 2021 at 9:29 am
Thanks, Belinda. Those boats are all full of tired fishermen now, after the opening the other day.
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March 13, 2021 at 10:14 am
I imagine they are.
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March 13, 2021 at 8:21 am
Sea Lions. Eagles. Who needs a zoo? Amazing.
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March 13, 2021 at 9:25 am
We do have quite a menagerie in our area.
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March 13, 2021 at 12:18 pm
They all enjoy their herring..those Sea Lions are first in line.
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March 13, 2021 at 1:09 pm
I’d step aside for them. for sure.
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March 14, 2021 at 7:24 am
Lovely series of photos, and so many fishing boats!! I hope there’s enough fish to go around and enough are left for next season.
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March 14, 2021 at 10:47 am
The herring fishery is managed very well and has been going on for decades. They are careful to only allow a certain number to be caught. Each boat has a quota, so there is no overfishing. It’s a very, very short opening.
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March 14, 2021 at 12:02 pm
I’m a fan of herring too, without the bones, heads and fins, though. It’s fun to see the ecosystem at work for all. 🙂
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March 14, 2021 at 1:14 pm
It was quite good – the bit we tasted – and it wasn’t even the best time of year for it. You’re right about it feeding so many animals and becoming part of the ecosystem.
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March 15, 2021 at 4:12 am
I hadn’t thought of seagulls as janitors. Good point! Super post, Anneli. Love the photos.
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March 15, 2021 at 9:32 am
Thanks a lot, Jennie. Have a great week.
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March 15, 2021 at 6:32 am
Nice photos. Did you take all of those? When I lived in Florida, the tourists fed the seagulls. It was so annoying, because those birds were always trying to get at our food when at the beach.
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March 15, 2021 at 9:29 am
Yes, I did. take them. Some turned out good, some I wish had been clearer, but that’s how it goes. Feeding seagulls! Ugh! They will eat anything. No need to feed them. That’s like feeding crows.
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March 15, 2021 at 7:32 pm
Very nice and interesting combination of photos and narrative!
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March 15, 2021 at 7:52 pm
Thanks a lot, Terry. So nice to have you back in the blog community.
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