Spawn on Kelp Herring - Pacific Region

In the Spawn on Kelp (SOK) fishery, the harvest is not of whole herring, but the eggs which have adhered to blades of kelp after herring have spawned. It is conducted by suspending lines of kelp where herring spawn, and may use either an open or a closed ponding technique.

SOK is a traditional food of BC coastal First Nations, which harvest SOK for food, social, and ceremonial purposes under the authority of communal licences. First Nations have traditionally harvested herring spawn using the open pond method on several types of kelp, eel grass, and tree branches.

The SOK fishery occurs in all of the major stock assessment areas for Pacific Herring except the Strait of Georgia, where there is a lack of suitable kelp.

Integrated Fisheries Management Plans

• Spawn on Kelp Herring Management Plan

Fishery Information

• Spawn on Kelp Consultations
• SPAWN-ON-KELP MARKET STUDY
  • Part One - Market analysis and Expansion Potential
  • Part Two - Potential for, and Impacts of, Expanding Spawn-on-Kelp Production in British Columbia
  • Market Trends And Opportunities
  • Spawn-on Kelp Market Report
  • An Update of Market Variables Affecting Demand in Japan
• Herring Spawning Areas and Tag Recovery Maps
• Research documents and stock status reports - Scientific papers and short resource status papers, available through the Department's Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) site
   

DFO Contact

Steven Groves
Section Head - Salmon & Herring
417 - 2nd Avenue West,
Prince Rupert, BC
V8J 1G8

Phone: 250-627-3455
Email: Steven.Groves@dfo-mpo.gc.ca