Canada’s Forage Fish Report Reveals Mounting Ocean Risks: Herring, Capelin, and Mackerel Have Collapsed

Forage fish are the foundation of ocean recovery — Oceana Canada calls on Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson to leave more in the water to power fisheries, ecosystems, and coastal economies

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People, May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new Oceana Canada report, Little Being, Big Foundation, delivers the first national assessment of 16 federally managed forage fish stocks — the small fish in the ocean that provide food for other fish, whales, seabirds, and people. The findings are stark. More than 80 per cent of these populations are not healthy, and only three are protected under the Fisheries Act.

As Canada’s major fishing season begins and new quotas are set for herring, capelin, and mackerel, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) continues to manage these foundational species in ways that put fisheries, wildlife, and coastal economies at risk.

The report features the voices of people whose livelihoods, cultures, and communities depend on rebuilding forage fish: A fifth-generation fisher from Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, who has watched capelin disappear; a researcher with the Kitasoo Xai'xais Stewardship Authority in Klemtu, British Columbia, with lived experience demonstrating the importance of Indigenous Knowledge in fisheries management; and a head naturalist and research director at Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises in Westport, Nova Scotia, who has documented humpback whale declines as their food source vanishes. Their message is clear — DFO must change how it manages forage fish.

“For too long, DFO has waited to act and allowed short-term decisions to override long-term sustainability. We have science, laws, and policies, yet DFO continues to exploit the very foundation of the ocean that feeds salmon, cod, whales, and seabirds — species that drive coastal tourism and strengthen coastal economies. The result is predictable: weaker ecosystems and missed economic opportunities. This must change now. DFO should be aiming for a future with massive schools of herring and capelin off Canada’s coasts, feeding life at every level. That is what ocean recovery looks like, and it starts with protecting the fish that make everything else possible,” said Jack Daly, marine scientist, Oceana Canada.

The report finds that depleted forage fish stocks are harvested at high levels, generating less than two per cent of Canada’s landed fisheries value. While Canada earns little from these fisheries, these harvest levels sacrifice all the benefits that would result from leaving more forage fish in the water. A January 2026 Statistics Canada analysis found Canada's oceans provided more than $7.1 billion in ecosystem services in 2023 — and concluded that these benefits depend directly on ecosystem health and protection. Mismanaging the fish that underpin the food web puts that value at risk.

In 2025, only 13 per cent of all landings came from stocks in the healthy zone. The three stocks classified as healthy are herring in the Pacific region from Prince Rupert District, West Coast Vancouver Island, and the Strait of Georgia. This healthy classification does not reflect historical baselines or current ecosystem realities. Critically depleted herring in southwest Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy continue to be harvested at rates that science advice cannot justify.

Forage fish may be small, but they are the foundation of ocean recovery. Their greatest value is in the water — where they feed whales, seabirds and commercially valuable fish that sustain coastal communities and power Canada’s ocean economy.

But recovery is possible.

Atlantic mackerel — once among Canada's most mismanaged forage fish — now has a rebuilding plan and is on a path to recovery. On Canada's West Coast, partnerships that pair Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western science have strengthened Pacific herring management and supported ecosystem health. These examples show that abundance can return when management aligns with science, law, and policy.

To rebuild forage fish populations, Oceana Canada is calling on Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson to:

1. Fully implement the Fisheries Act: Extend legal protection to all 16 federally managed stocks. Currently, only three stocks are protected under the Fisheries Act, leaving the rest without safeguards.
2. Apply science-based guardrails: All forage fish stocks need ecosystem-based reference points that define when populations are at risk and how fishing levels should respond. These benchmarks should follow a modernized forage fish policy and be in place within two years to ensure science drives DFO management decisions.
3. Pair science with Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Fisheries management requires pairing Western science with Indigenous Knowledge Systems to inform stock assessments, reference points, rebuilding strategies, and spatial planning.
   
   

Forage fish populations are foundational to ocean recovery and must be managed for abundance.

Little Being, Big Foundation: Where Rebuilding Ocean Abundance Begins is available at oceana.ca/OceanComeback.

Oceana Canada was established as an independent charity in 2015 and is part of the largest international advocacy group dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada has successfully campaigned to ban single-use plastics, end the shark fin trade, make rebuilding depleted fish populations the law, improve the way fisheries are managed and protect marine habitat. We work with civil society, academics, fishers, Indigenous Peoples and the federal government to return Canada’s formerly vibrant oceans to health and abundance. By restoring Canada’s oceans, we can strengthen our communities, reap greater economic and nutritional benefits and protect our future. Find out more at www.oceana.ca.

Media contacts: Vaishali Dassani, Oceana Canada, vdassani@oceana.ca, +1-647-294-3335;
Rose-Marie Ménard, Pilot PMR, rosemarie.menard@pilotpmr.com, +1-579-622-9925
Media assets available here.

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