Herring spawn off northern Vancouver Island dazzles residents and animals alike

Just off the coast of northern Vancouver Island, the ocean waters have turned a vibrant shade of turquoise as herring spawn in an area where they’ve never been recorded before.

Port McNeill resident Jackie Hildering, who works with the Marine Education and Research Society, says the spawn has given her and her neighbours a “front-row seat to the importance of herring.”

“We can hear the barking of California sea lions, that growling of steller sea lions. There is a cacophony coming from the birds, from gulls to diving birds to the eagles that are swooping down,” she told All Points West host