What Happens If Canada Runs Out of Forage Fish?

Forage fish may be small, but they hold Canada's ocean food web together. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, Andrew Lewin speaks with Jack Daly, marine scientist at Oceana Canada, about the new report Little Fish, Big Foundation and what it reveals about the state of forage fish across Canada.

These tiny fish, including capelin, herring, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies, feed whales, seabirds, cod, salmon, sharks, and coastal communities. But many stocks are depleted, poorly understood, or managed without the long-term planning needed to rebuild abundance.

This conversation looks at why forage fish matter, how overfishing affects the entire ocean food web, why some stocks may not recover if action comes too late, and what Canada can do to protect the small fish that so many species depend on.

Listen to the full episode to understand why protecting tiny fish may be one of the biggest steps toward rebuilding ocean abundance.