In Canada, and in many other countries around the world, it is often Indigenous people leading the way in sustainability and stewardship of nature.
The Heiltsuk Nation, on British Columbia, Canada’s central coast, uses time-tested practices in their spawn-on-kelp herring fishery. This practice involves hanging kelp and branches in waters where herring are known to spawn. The roe attach themselves to the kelp and branches which is then harvested by the Heiltsuk Nation, without killing any herring. This is in contrast to methods used by commerical fisheries, which harvest both roe and live herring.
This fishery contributes income to the Heiltsuk community as the spawn-on-kelp can be sold at a price of more than $300 per kilogram. Despite this income, the Heiltsuk Nation voted this month to keep its fishery closed to help rebuild the herring stocks which scientists believe are fragile. As Sonal Gupta writes, herring is a vital part of the “the ecological web of BC's central coast, feeding salmon, seabirds and whales. For the Heiltsuk, they’ve held cultural and spiritual meaning for more than 14,000 years.”
William Housty, director of the Heiltsuk integrated resource management department in Bella Bella, BC commented that "It shows how important conservation is and that people are willing to give up their part of their annual economy for the sake of conservation."