It’s herring time again. The seiners are taking turns setting their nets. Seagulls love it when the herring are seined. The fish mill around the ever tightening seine net looking for an escape, but hungry seagull mouths are waiting for them at the surface.
And for those who escape the net or those who are naively swimming around free, thinking that all is well, a surprise is waiting. These sea lions get their fill of herring in between having naps on these floating breakwaters.
Sometimes a nap after a big meal is just the thing.



March 14, 2024 at 8:37 am
Wonderful photos, Anneli! Those critters look so relaxed. ☺️
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March 14, 2024 at 11:58 am
They sure are. Full of herring, I’m sure.
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March 14, 2024 at 1:31 pm
Happily stuffed. 😋
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March 14, 2024 at 8:55 am
Oh to be a sea lion.
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March 14, 2024 at 11:57 am
They sure can find sunny places to relax. See the big one on the far side drooling?
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March 14, 2024 at 9:17 am
Everyone gets a share of the catch. Good to be a sea lion. Not su good to be a herring. Happy Thursday Anneli. Allan
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March 14, 2024 at 11:56 am
No, it’s not a good time to be a herring, but even the sea lions, big as they are, can run into trouble. One of them got in the way of a killer whale along our beaches last year. The food chain has many, many links.
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March 14, 2024 at 9:25 am
Remember when Comox Bay was filled with herring fleet? Marsha
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March 14, 2024 at 10:53 am
Times have changed for the worse, but we won’t go into the politics of it today. BTW, happy birthday.
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March 14, 2024 at 9:38 am
I wish I could sleep like those sea lions do! I wonder if they are snoring. Beautiful pictures!
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March 14, 2024 at 10:53 am
I don’t know if they snore, but we hear them barking all day long. It’s a nice sound to hear.
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March 14, 2024 at 10:50 am
Herring time is a boon for everyone! The sea lions sure look well fed 😊
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March 14, 2024 at 10:52 am
They are! But you’re right. It’s good for all the sea birds and for the salmon, and the eagles and all sorts of scavengers.
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March 14, 2024 at 1:56 pm
Anneli, I think that is one herring too much for the sea lions! 😀 Lovely photos and an interesting post.
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March 14, 2024 at 3:58 pm
I agree! You can see the big one drooling, as if he’d eaten more than his fill.
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March 14, 2024 at 2:48 pm
Wonderful photos, Anneli. Those sea lions sure look like they have their bellies full!
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March 14, 2024 at 4:00 pm
They sure do. I saw one right next to our fish boat when we were anchored in a beautiful bay with crystal clear water. He was SO graceful. You would never expect such a big galoot to look like a ballet artist in the water.
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March 14, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Oh, I would love to have seen that ballet show!
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March 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
We fed it a couple of pink salmon because they weren’t worth much anyway and wouldn’t make much difference to our catch. I was trying my hand at commercial fishing with the Captain on the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands at the time. The sea lion broke up the fish underwater (shaking it) and then dove down to retrieve the pieces as they sank. Very graceful!
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March 14, 2024 at 3:24 pm
Great photos and an enjoyable post, Anneli. Those sea lions sure know how to relax after a good meal!
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March 14, 2024 at 4:02 pm
“Ahhhhh…,” they moan. “This is the life!”
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March 14, 2024 at 6:19 pm
Cool. Did you take these photos from where you live?
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March 15, 2024 at 9:14 am
Yes, the boat pictures were taken from my deck. We can hear the sea lions barking morning and night, but I got the sea lion photos on the other side of the bay where they like to hang around near a wharf.
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March 14, 2024 at 6:27 pm
More than sea lions enjoy herring. I have a large jar of herring in wine sauce in my refrigerator right now. Pickled herring’s standard on the Swedish tables I grew up eating from, and believe me: there were days when I’d eat so much I’d feel like one of those sea lions.
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March 15, 2024 at 9:18 am
You and I are on the same page, Linda. I LOVE pickled herring. Unfortunately these spring herring are mostly used for roe and the skinny bodies are used for fertilizer. The fall herring fishery (Novemberish) provides fatter herring which are so good for pickling.
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March 15, 2024 at 2:48 am
Hi Anneli!!
Lovely post, oh to be sleeping in the sun like a sealoin! We have them here too, a big one was living under the Hobart wharf! Last week two seals came up from a beach further south and blocked off a road!
Hope you’re well, lots going on in my life at the moment keeping me busy, away from my camera and posting. Hope to be back participating soon!
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March 15, 2024 at 9:15 am
Yes, you have become a stranger, Don’t be gone too long! I miss your photos.
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March 15, 2024 at 6:40 am
I loved hearing about herring time! Great photos of the fishing boats, the beautiful expanse and then really fun to see the sea lions after a herring gorge. Wonderful post, Anneli.
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March 15, 2024 at 9:18 am
Thanks, Jet. Funny how sea lions can be so ugly and yet beautiful at the same time.
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March 15, 2024 at 10:04 am
Great photos, Anneli, and those sea lions have the right idea!
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March 15, 2024 at 10:12 am
They sure do. They don’t look like they’re suffering at all.
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March 15, 2024 at 11:35 am
I wish I could get my fill of pickled herring here! 😉
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March 16, 2024 at 10:15 am
I suppose you could buy them in the deli section of most stores. We have one kind by a company called Dutch Boy. But at least in Texas you have better access to shrimp and other kinds of seafood. We have shrimp but it seems that you have bigger and better shrimp there.
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March 15, 2024 at 5:30 pm
The circle of life.
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March 19, 2024 at 3:40 am
My parents LOVE pickled herring. Great pics!
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March 19, 2024 at 10:35 am
Thanks, Mark. My parents did too, and so of course do I.
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March 19, 2024 at 10:45 am
I can’t say the same for myself. Never developed a taste for them.
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March 19, 2024 at 10:46 am
You’re missing out!
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April 9, 2024 at 5:48 am
Hmm, nothing like having a fresh meal delivered right to one’s hungry appetite. When I traveled the Pacific Coast Highway in 1979, I experienced the frolicking sea lions along the shoreline.
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April 9, 2024 at 6:46 am
Sea lions are so interesting to watch, unless you’re a commercial fisherman and now have competition.
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