I will start, and then I will pass it over to my colleague from DFO science.
Good morning, everyone.
Atlantic herring are a small silvery fish, which feed primarily on phytoplankton, zooplankton and small fish and larvae. The species swim with their mouths open to filter the plankton as they move through the water. Adults stay in the deeper waters during the day and come to the surface to feed at night.
Herring are a critically important species in the ecosystem and are a key forage species for many larger fish and for marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises, dolphins, whales and sharks. Herring can grow up to 44 centimeters in length and weigh up to 750 grams.
In Atlantic Canada, herring is harvested and processed throughout the Atlantic provinces and Quebec. The Canadian fishing season runs from April to November. The species is harvested with purse seines, tuck seines, fixed gear, midwater trawls, weirs and gillnets.
Atlantic herring is fished for both food and bait, and the catch may be exported smoked, fresh, frozen, marinated and canned in the same way as sardines, or for their roe. Products from Canada's herring fishery are destined for markets in Japan, the United States and the Dominican Republic. One of the most valuable herring products is roe for the Japanese market.
The department recognizes the Atlantic herring's importance as a key source of bait in the lobster and snow crab fisheries, especially given the current concerns about a shortage of fresh bait availability, as the mackerel fishery is only set to open on June 1 in some areas.
The main fisheries in Atlantic Canada are in Scotia-Fundy NAFO divisions 4VWX; the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence spring and fall spawner components; and off the west and east coasts of Newfoundland spring and fall components.
For several of these stocks, DFO's science advice seeks to reduce herring harvests to meet conservation and rebuilding targets. At the same time, stakeholders in many of these fisheries want to keep fishing Atlantic herring.
I'll pass it over to Kent to give a bit of an overview of the science.