The Pacific herring spawn aboard Achiever
Connecting cultures with our flagship vessel.
The annual herring spawn is a magical time of year on the British Columbia coast, with millions upon millions of Pacific herring congregating in several regions to reproduce. A keystone species, the herring play a vital role in the ecosystem at large, and their return each spring is an important event for numerous species including salmon, sea lions, and sea birds of all kinds. Traditionally, the herring spawn marked the start of the year for many first nations cultures up and down the coast, with a sustainable roe-on-kelp fishery providing an important food source.
Last year, our research vessel Achiever was chartered by an international film crew to document this important annual event in both Heiltsuk and Nuchatlaht First Nations territory. Both of these regions witnessed a collapse of herring numbers starting in the 1960s after decades of unsustainable fishing practices, but with the fishery on the west coast of Vancouver Island and the central coast fully closed since 2008, both areas are starting to see cautiously optimistic increases in returns in recent years.
As always, Achiever proved an amazing platform to tell this story to an international audience, spending two months at sea ethically filming the spawn, the associated wildlife, and the traditional cultural practices surrounding this incredible fish.
With a revolving crew of Raincoast personnel guiding the process, Achiever thrived as a connector, uniting cultures from around the world and telling stories of conservation, resiliency, and culture in some of the most beautiful and ecologically important ecosystems in the world.
