Pacific fisheries are following a national downward trend of fewer healthy stocks, emphasizing an urgent need to diversify fisheries and for the federal government to follow through on neglected commitments to protect and restore critical populations, an independent shows.
Compiled by Oceana Canada using Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) data, the audit notes the federal government has invested heavily in fisheries science, monitoring and management, including a modernized Fisheries Act, but it has not translated into action on the water.
sa国际传媒淥ut of 33 critical stocks, only six have rebuilding plans. A lot more are scheduled for the coming years, but at the rate wesa国际传媒檙e going itsa国际传媒檚 going to take 37 years to get through those plans, and thatsa国际传媒檚 assuming no more stocks get into the critical zone,sa国际传媒� Robert Rangeley, Oceanasa国际传媒檚 director of science said.
The audit focused on marine finfish, shellfish and other invertebrates but not fish that spend all or part of their life in freshwater, including salmon.
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Among the key findings, Oceana found only one-quarter of Canadian stocks are healthy, down 10 per cent since its first audit in 2017. Stocks of caution have risen from 16 to 19 per cent, while stocks in critical states have increased from 13.4 per cent to 17 per cent in the same time period.
The health of roughly one-third remains uncertain due to insufficient data, such as mortality estimates, which have been applied to only 20 per cent of stocks.
sa国际传媒淲e know why we have such poor fishing mortality estimates, because we do such poor fisheries monitoring,sa国际传媒� Rangeley said. sa国际传媒淚f you donsa国际传媒檛sa国际传媒� know the sources of the mortality, and you donsa国际传媒檛 know the extent of the mortality, you really cansa国际传媒檛 tell whether you should be backing off a fishery or not.sa国际传媒�
Along B.C.sa国际传媒檚 coast the audit highlighted troubling decreases in crustaceans, the backbone of Canadian fisheries, and small forage fish that other commercially important fish prey upon.
sa国际传媒淗erring, oolichan and other forage fish are so critically important to the ecosystem, as our Pacific First Nations know intimately well. But when we manage those stocks for commercial fishing sa国际传媒� theresa国际传媒檚 no accountability for the stocksa国际传媒檚 role in the ecosystem,sa国际传媒� Rangeley said. sa国际传媒淪o when quotas are set, theysa国际传媒檙e not set at a level that allows sufficient biomass to be left in the water for the other species that depend on them.
sa国际传媒淔orage fish are worth twice as much in the water than they are in the net.sa国际传媒�
In its recommendations, Oceana is now calling on the government to complete regulations that bring new Fisheries Act provisions into force, address inconsistencies in catch monitoring by implementing the national Fishery Monitoring Policy introduced in November 2019 and develop the remaining rebuilding plans.
Rangeley commended the government for several achievements in this yearsa国际传媒檚 audit, including a rebuilding plan underway for critical Pacific herring stocks in the Haida Gwaii area, but cautioned completion of these plans is too often delayed or suspended.
No new rebuilding plans for critical stocks were released in 2020.
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An emailed statement from the office of Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan stated DFO welcomes the Oceana audit and will be reviewing the recommendations, but argued rebuilding plans are already a priority for the government.
sa国际传媒淚n 2018, our government modernized the Fisheries Act to restore protections to fish and fish habitat, and make fish stock rebuilding plans mandatory. Since then, DFO has completed rebuilding plans for six of nineteen selected stocks, and a further two have improved to the point where they are no longer in the critical zone. For the remaining priority stocks, DFO has specific fishery management measures in place, based on the best available science.sa国际传媒�
The audit shows yelloweye rockfish of Vancouver Island jumped from critical status to healthy status in 2020, following an evaluation of rebuilding strategies.
The ministersa国际传媒檚 office added the government has taken consistent action, backed by targeted investments, to protect and restore species at risk and their habitats through many initiatives, including the Canada Nature Fund, the Ocean Protections Plan, the Coastal Baseline Fund, and the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.
Rangeley praised DFOsa国际传媒檚 transparency and commitments but stressed the need for swifter follow through.
Oceana communicated with the department and elected officials to compile the audit, and shared the results before making them public.
sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檝e already validated it because theysa国际传媒檝e gone over it with a fine-tooth comb,sa国际传媒� Rangeley said. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 no argument about this audit, itsa国际传媒檚 the single-most important source for getting information on the status of our stocks and how wesa国际传媒檙e managing them. So give them credit for their transparency, and for making commitments. They know theysa国际传媒檙e falling short and they want to do better.sa国际传媒�
He added the audit highlights the need to better diversify the species that are harvested, not just for better economic security of fishing communities, but also the governmentsa国际传媒檚 Blue Economy strategy, which will suffer without the backbone of sustainable wild fisheries.
