The Canadian government is seeking to address historical overfishing and rebuild valuable but critically depleted fish stocks through a set of recently published plans developed by government officials, harvesters, and scientific researchers.
The nation has implemented policies for over 15 years to address similar concerns, but those have largely failed to adequately address overfishing, according to Rebecca Schijns, a fisheries scientist with Oceana Canada, who said the new plans aim to address earlier shortcomings via detailed targets, timelines, and other rehabilitation measures.
“Many stocks have been depleted from historical overfishing since the [19]50s to the ‘90s, so it was really a necessary policy to start to reverse the decline. As a result of that, we saw a few rebuilding plans trickle out, and [most] really weren’t very strong. They had a lot of weak measures, they didn't have targets to grow the stock to healthy levels, they didn't have timelines associated, and steps to get those stocks out of there,” she said.
Schijns said the government has identified 30 specific stocks in need of rehabilitation, and of those, 12 are classified as being in critical condition, including Atlantic mackerel, Southern Newfoundland cod, Northern and Southern Gulf cod, spring spawning herring, Haida Gwaii Pacific herring, and a number of groundfish stocks.
“I think there have been decades of mismanagement and a slow policy rollout that have left many stocks depleted for too long, ultimately making fishing businesses vulnerable and concentrated on a subset of Canada’s fisheries,” Schijns said. “Where we are today is absolutely not as good as it gets, and this isn’t the status quo we need to accept.”
A spokesperson from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) emphasized to SeafoodSource the sustainable management of major fish stocks through the rebuilding plans is legally required under Canada’s Fisheries Act. Thus, the spokesperson confirmed 15 rebuilding plans have now been published, including for Northern shrimp, Atlantic mackerel, white hake, Atlantic cod, American plaice, winter flounder, Atlantic herring, Pacific herring, and Okanagan Chinook salmon.
“This milestone is a direct reflection of our commitment to restoring fish populations and managing marine resources sustainably while fostering economic growth and environmental stewardship,” Canada Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said in a statement.
While the plans are more encouraging than previously outlined goals, Schijns said Canada is still catching up to other nations and blocs that have implemented rebuilding plans and have started to see positive results.
For instance, she said such plans have been a requirement in the U.S. since 2000 and have played a pivotal role in rebuilding around 50 fish stocks and increasing fisheries revenues by about 50 percent. The E.U. has also seen similar success, according to Schijns, after reforming its Common Fisheries Policy in 2013, with a reported 37 percent increase in biomass and a reduction in overfishing by 40 percent since that time.
“We’re still in the early stages of reaping the benefits, as seen by other major fishing nations, and this is an opportunity for Canada to be a leader in sustainable fisheries,” Schijns said.
Nevertheless, the plans are especially important now, Schijns said, as the Canadian seafood industry grapples with uncertainty stemming from fluctuating tariffs on seafood products, creating the need to rebuild fisheries and diversify the industry.
“What's missing from the conversation, from our perspective, is how important rebuilding fish populations plays into the ability to diversify and grow markets over time so that we are not so dependent on a handful of species and a handful of trading partners,” she said. “We need to be looking to rebuild ones that have been depleted for many, many years so we can set ourselves up for success for multiple generations, which also builds Canadian credibility for sustainable fisheries management and strengthens trading opportunities.”
