{"id":382773,"date":"2020-11-17T08:03:25","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T13:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=382773"},"modified":"2020-11-17T08:03:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T13:03:25","slug":"the-health-of-canadian-fisheries-continues-to-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/the-health-of-canadian-fisheries-continues-to-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"The Health of Canadian Fisheries Continues to Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFederal Government Policies and Investments to Rebuild the Blue Economy are Failing Due to Lack of Implementation
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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Oceana Canada released its fourth annual Fishery Audit<\/em><\/a> which shows that Canada\u2019s fisheries have declined since reporting began in 2017, and that a mere 26.5 per cent are now considered healthy. The number of healthy populations decreased by almost eight percentage points from 2017 to 2020, despite significant investments by the Canadian government in science, fisheries monitoring and management including a modernized Fisheries Act.<\/em> To make matters worse, no comprehensive or meaningful rebuilding plans \u2013 crucial prerequisites to rebuilding collapsed populations \u2013 were released in 2020, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada only delivered on 14 per cent of its published priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an alarming gap growing between government commitment and action. There have been encouraging investments by the federal government in fisheries science and management in recent years. Unfortunately, this has not yet translated to action on the water. At this rate it will be 37 years before all critically depleted populations have a plan to rebuild them back to healthy levels,\u201d says Josh Laughren, Executive Director, Oceana Canada. \u201cCanadians and our coastal communities deserve well-managed fisheries for the future of their livelihoods and for food security.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have also been troubling decreases in crustaceans such as shrimp and crab and in small forage fish such as capelin, herring and mackerel that are prey for many commercially important fish, including cod and tuna. Crustaceans make up the economic backbone of Canada\u2019s fisheries, and forage fish are essential to healthy marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealthy fish populations are critical to healthy ecosystems and coastal communities. Our oceans are facing growing threats and greater uncertainty, putting the marine life we all depend upon at risk,\u201d says Dr. Robert Rangeley, Science Director, Oceana Canada. \u201cA lot is at stake, and it\u2019s time for the government to take urgent action now to manage our oceans and fisheries sustainably. We can rebuild populations to provide more opportunities for coastal communities and make the Canadian seafood industry more resilient to growing threats such as climate change. As we look to rebuilding our economy post-pandemic, we must seize the opportunities that our ocean economy can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada has an opportunity to think about the future we want and need as we set a path to recovery for our resource-rich nation. Failure to act now risks squandering the hundreds of millions of dollars of recent federal government investments to improve fisheries management. It would also mean losing out on the massive long-term potential of the original blue economy, wild fish, to support our planet,\u201d says Rangeley.<\/p>\n

In the year ahead, Oceana Canada is urging Fisheries and Oceans Canada to address its most critical gaps, including:<\/p>\n