Oceana Canada’s latest audit of Canada’s fisheries, and their stewardship by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, (DFO) reveals that for the sixth year in a row, less than one-third of wild fish and invertebrate stocks can be considered healthy, and most critically depleted stocks lack government plans to rebuild them. The number of healthy fisheries has decreased since 2017, with no meaningful improvement to many of the indicators of good fisheries science, monitoring and management.
Oceana Canada’s annual Fishery Audit assesses the state of Canada’s fisheries and fisheries management and provides recommendations to meet federal policy commitments to return wild fish populations to abundance in Canada’s oceans. Alarmingly, this year’s Audit shows that despite the government making significant investments, developing new policies and updating laws to improve fisheries management, these changes have not yet led to healthier fisheries.
“The time for action and measurable improvement is long overdue. The need to rebuild depleted wild fish populations has never been more urgent, especially in the face of global overfishing and accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Josh Laughren, Executive Director, Oceana Canada. “Canada has the legislative, regulatory and policy framework in place to make real improvements for marine ecosystems and coastal communities — but only if those policies are implemented with the urgency required by the current state of wild fisheries.”
Last month, Oceana Canada hosted leading marine conservation and fishery experts, Indigenous and fishing industry leaders and policymakers from across the country at a symposium held in Ottawa. Sector experts shared perspectives and evidence of the urgent need to rebuild healthy fisheries, outlining priority actions to improve fishery and ecosystem-based science and management, mobilize Indigenous Knowledge systems, and address the growing threats of climate change. To benefit fishers, coastal communities and cultures, our seafood economy and the planet, there needs to be a shift toward prioritizing the long-term value of a resilient ocean, instead of continuing to focus on maximizing short-term fishery yields.