Tag Archives: Rob Morley

Fisheries Minister Discards Science in Pacific Herring in the Strait of Georgia Decision

“Shocked and devastated,” says the Herring Conservation and Research Society’s Rob Morley of Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray’s decision to reduce the harvest rate on Pacific herring in the Strait of Georgia to 10% from the long-standing, science-validated 20%. “Fisheries management decisions should be based on solid peer-reviewed science not the number of signatures on a petition.” To make matters worse, he added, “DFO will take 85% of the likely landed value in seine licence fees that were set in the 1970s.  How are harvesters supposed to make a living?” >click to read< 11:38

Moratorium sought on herring fisheries; critical for salmon

Conservationists are calling for a moratorium on both the ­upcoming food-and-bait herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia and next season’s roe herring fishery,,, They fear herring ­living ­year-round in the Strait of ­Georgia are at risk due to fishing.,, Conservancy Hornby Island said Strait of Georgia herring stocks are little understood. The organization is among groups urging Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray to impose a moratorium on the fish-and-bait and the roe herring fisheries to rebuild stocks coastwide.,, Rob Morley, chairman of B.C.’s herring industry advisory board, has a different view of herring fisheries in the strait, saying scientific analysis and modelling show it’s a sustainable fishery with healthy stocks. “It is our feeling that it is a very well-managed sustainable fishery.” >click to read< 16:06

Salmon canning jobs dwindling as consumer tastes change, says Canfisco

B.C. cannery workers are urging Ottawa to save their dwindling jobs and restore the traditional West Coast industry by protecting fish processing jobs. “I’m not a man that begs. But I’m asking you. Keep this community alive.” said Arnie Nagy, cannery union president of the Local 31 Shoreworkers. Nagy joined a conference call with a Fisheries and Oceans Canada standing committee in Ottawa Tuesday to call for fish processing to be protected and kept in local B.C. communities like Prince Rupert where 500 Canfisco jobs were recently lost.,, Rob Morley, Canfisco president, says they are fighting a losing battle. “Consumers don’t want fish in a can. They want it fresh. That is why the Prince Rupert plant closed.” “We’re doing this because the demand for canning is declining. That’s the least efficient operation we have. We sell [fish] fresh because that’s what the consumers want,” said Morley. Read the rest here 22:09