Marine Scene Issue #22

The Marine and Freshwater team would like to thank everyone for their support in helping us celebrate the sea. Dozens of Canadians across the country are holding events to recognize Oceans Day — from an eight-year-old girl in Ontario who convinced her mayor to organize a shore clean up, to a beach party in Nunavut and a sustainable seafood party in Taiwan, there will definitely be a variety of fun events taking place. Visit our website in the upcoming weeks to hear more about these stories and events.

What our Oceans do for Us

Our latest report, Not Just a Pretty View: An Overview of What the Oceans Do For Us examines the true value of our oceans. Energy, food, and climate regulation are just a few ecosystem benefits provided by our oceans. The full report gives a clear accounting of the range of ecosystem services provided by the coastal and marine environments, and explains how these natural services act as a foundation for sustainable economic and social development. To learn more download your free copy today.

Celebrating Sustainable Seafood Choices

On May 28, the David Suzuki Foundation's Lana Gunnlaugson and SeaChoice's Taina Uitto hosted a seafood tasting workshop to help Canadians find healthy choices that reconnect them to their food. For the Love of Fish: From Producer to Plate featured eight local and sustainable fisheries and producers in British Columbia, whose seafood was tastefully prepared by some of Vancouver's best chefs. The audience was guided through the tastings to learn each story behind each fishery. This event showed business owners and consumers that sustainable seafood choices do exist, and that by supporting local and sustainable fisheries, we are also sustaining healthy communities and oceans for tomorrow.

In the Field with Corey Peet - David Suzuki Foundation's Aquaculture Biologist

The issue of salmon farming is a significant environmental issue in British Columbia. We allow foreign corporations to farm an exotic species in our waters with very good cooperation from governments and little social accountability. Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to the East Coast of Canada, as well as Scotland, Ireland, and Norway to look at how salmon is farmed there and whether or not they deal with the same issues that we struggle with on the west coast.

In short, the answer is yes; but there is much more to the story. On the surface, it's easy to see that debates on the issue are just as rigorous as those here. However, the key difference is that other regions and countries have the opportunity to move forward in more collaborative ways that enable change and solutions because there's acknowledgment that the problem actually exists. In B.C., we continue to debate about whether or not sea lice even come from salmon farms and whether or not they affect wild fish, when this has happened everywhere salmon are farmed, especially in Europe where the industry dates back to the 1960's. I'm left with the impression that B.C. is the worst place to farm salmon – not only because we still have more wild salmon than farmed salmon, but also because our government and industries refuse to admit the realities of the current problems.

Good News for a Change:

Success in the Atlantic: Last month, Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea responded to our recommendations that DFO should (1) work toward more defensible limits for incidental mortality of sensitive species; (2) explore the use of electronic monitoring (i.e., video cameras on board vessels); and (3) improve at-sea observer coverage (i.e., independent observers on board vessels). This commitment offers definite steps toward reducing bycatch in Canada's Atlantic Longline Fishery for swordfish and tuna.

SeaChoice launches Sushi Guide: SeaChoice has released the first Canadian sushi guide to help consumers protect endangered species while enjoying the sushi they love. Download your free copy today!

Green Fish-Red Fish: Sustainable Choices for Healthy Oceans

Green Fish: Sablefish (Canadian Pacific and Alaskan – trap caught)
Canadian Pacific sablefish is green-listed as a SeaChoice best choice as this fishery is well managed with little bycatch (unintended catch of other species). Sablefish is a great replacement for Unagi (eel), one of the worst offenders on many sushi menus.

Red Fish: Eel (International - Farmed)
Internationally farmed eel is red-listed as a SeaChoice species to avoid as this carnivorous fish consumes? more than twice the amount of protein required by wild stocks of fish. There are also serious concerns around escapes, disease and parasite transfer to wild stocks, not to mention habitat destruction and pollution. The next time you see this fish on your menu be sure to ask for a more sustainable option like sablefish.

Fish Fact:

Did you know that more than 80 types of marine plants and animals in B.C. are harvested to provide food for local, national and international populations? Learn more by downloading our latest report.