PROTECT FORAGE FISH - Oceana Canada

PROTECT FORAGE FISH

The small fish that form the big foundation of ocean health

Forage fish include herring, capelin, mackerel, and sardines

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Overview

Forage fish are foundational to healthy oceans — and most are in decline. No foundation, no recovery.

Forage fish in Canada include herring, capelin, mackerel, and sardines. They are some of the smallest fish in the ocean, but they have a massive impact on its health. Forage fish support ocean ecosystems, feed iconic wildlife such as humpback whales and puffins, sustain larger fish populations like cod and salmon, and provide bait for Canada’s most economically valuable fisheries — including lobster and crab. They also support coastal tourism and connect marine ecosystems to life on land, feeding bears, wolves, seabirds, and other species.  

Recent Statistics Canada analysis found Canada’s oceans provided more than $7.1 billion in ecosystem services in 2023 — benefits that depend on healthy ecosystems. Yet despite their immense ecological, economic, and cultural value, most forage fish stocks in Canada are not healthy. They are too often depleted, mismanaged, and overlooked.

Oceana Canada is working to rebuild forage fish populations to ensure abundant schools of herring, capelin, mackerel for future generations. A thriving ocean, is one filled with small fish.

Little Being, Big Foundation: Where Rebuilding Ocean Abundance Begins, Oceana Canada’s new report, provides the first national assessment of Canada’s 16 major forage fish stocks and features the voices of people whose livelihoods, cultures, and communities depend on them.

Key findings the report includes:

  • More than 80% of stocks are not considered healthy, and many lack the basic scientific data to assess their status.
  • Only three stocks have legal protection under the Fisheries Act. As a result, fishing quotas often remain high — putting already fragile populations at further risk.

Little Being, Big Foundation

Read Oceana Canada’s report >>>

Leave more forage fish in the ocean

Canada has the laws, science, and knowledge needed to rebuild forage fish populations. The question now is whether Canada will continue to treat them as an afterthought or manage them for what they are: the foundation of healthy oceans. Rebuilding forage fish is where Canada’s Ocean Comeback begins.

Add your voice: Sign the petition to protect herring, capelin, mackerel and sardines.>>>

Canada must:

  • Legally protect all federally managed forage fish stocks under the Fisheries Act.
  • Apply science-based guardrails so all forage fish stocks have ecosystem-based reference points that define when they’re at risk and how fishing levels should respond.
  • Pair Western science with Indigenous Knowledge Systems in decision-making.

Voices from the water

“Improper management is leading to overfishing. If we keep raising fishing quotas, we’re just fast-tracking the total collapse of the marine ecosystem.” — Sierra Hall: Lead research field technician, Kitasoo Xai’xais Stewardship Authority, Klemtu, British Columbia

“Management can’t be disconnected from the ecosystem; it has to go beyond economic considerations and quotas.” — Jasmine Paul, Fifth-Generation Fisher Come by Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador

Change is possible, and there are hopeful stories that show the opportunity for recovery.

Take Action

PROTECT FORAGE FISH

Urge the government to protect forage fish, including herring, capelin, mackerel, and sardines.

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FEATURED CAMPAIGN

Protect Canada’s Forage Fish  

Oceana Canada is working to safeguard forage fish and rebuild abundant schools of capelin, herring, mackerel, and sardines. A thriving ocean is one filled with these small fish. Forage fish fuel ecosystems and are foundational to Canada’s Ocean Comeback. They are an essential link in the food web, supporting ocean health, coastal tourism, and valuable fisheries — including lobster and crab.

Little Being, Big Foundation: Where Rebuilding Ocean Abundance Begins, Oceana Canada’s new report, provides the first national assessment of Canada’s 16 major forage fish stocks. It also brings forward the voices of people whose livelihoods, cultures, and communities depend on these little fish. The findings are clear: most forage fish are not healthy and lack adequate protection. 
 

Learn More

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS

Stop Plastic Pollution

Restore Capelin Abundance

Protect North Atlantic Right Whales

Rebuild Ocean Abundance

Protect Marine Habitat

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Oceana Canada Headquarters
18 King Street East, Suite 505
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1C4

Phone: +1 (416) 583-2350
Email: info@oceana.ca

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Oceana Canada operates in many regions across Canada. From coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations communities that call this land home, and we strive for our work to be done in a spirit of collaboration and reconciliation.

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