Great schools of anchovy, a silvery herring-like fish, appeared in Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound in 2015, and have energized its waters because of the sea lions and humpback whales that hunt them.
Juvenile anchovy were identified in Horseshoe Bay in 2015m indicating for the first time that anchovy were spawning in Howe Sound.
Starting in 2015, fishers reported the best salmon fishing in 30 years in outer Howe Sound associated with big schools of anchovy that the salmon were feeding on.
Anchovy swim in very dense schools and often display a ‘silver dollar’ flash from their gill covers that distinguish them from herring.
Sea lions follow the anchovy schools, and now are regular spring visitors to Howe Sound
I go in search of juvenile anchovy, and find schools of them on many shores around Bowen Island, indicating substantial anchovy spawning in Howe Sound.
