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Marine Scene Issue #14
Who’s watching out for salmon?
A recent David Suzuki Foundation report shows that many Canadian Pacific salmon stocks are in trouble. One of the main problems identified in the report is that, although Canada has the laws it needs to protect salmon and their habitat, we do not have enough habitat conservation officers to enforce those laws. Considering the importance of salmon to Canada’s culture and economy as well as their critical role in marine, freshwater, and forest ecosystems, salmon should be a higher priority for everyone. Industries that depend on salmon, employ over 25,000 people in B.C. and contribute more than $500 million a year to the B.C. economy. Wild salmon also feed whales, eagles, bears and forest ecosystems. 
Using data on 10 representative stocks of steelhead, sockeye, coho, chum, and chinook salmon, An Upstream Battle: Declines in 10 Pacific Salmon Stocks and Solutions for Their Survival details the variety of factors that have caused declines of anywhere from 70 per cent to 93 per cent since the early 1990s. “We have to address all the threats to salmon survival, including unsustainable fishing, net-cage aquaculture, habitat loss, and global warming,” report coordinator and DSF aquatic biologist Jeffery Young said, noting that enforcement of habitat-protection regulations is an urgent priority. Please join us by clicking here to urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn to hire at least 12 more fisheries officers to enforce habitat-protection regulations.
Yet another Reason to Keep the Moratorium on Oil & Gas Exploration in B.C.
A collision between a supertanker and a barge on December 7, 2007, marked the worst oil spill in South Korea’s history. With close to 2.7 million gallons of crude oil spilling into the water, the government was forced to announce a state of disaster. The area was once a productive environment for fishing, aquaculture, and tourism, but residents now face the reality of losing their homes and livelihoods. This lesson hits close to home as industry and government are once again eyeing the B.C. coast for coastal oil and gas exploration. An oil spill on B.C.’s ecologically rich coast would be devastating as the proposed developments are near shore and tanker traffic would pass areas critical to First Nations, fisheries and tourism. Despite the efforts of industry proponents to sell Canadians on economic gains and safer technology, we must take a precautionary approach and urge government to keep the moratorium on oil and gas exploration and oil-tanker traffic in B.C
A recent report by the World Bank, titled Aquaculture: Changing the Face of the Waters, Meeting the Promise and Challenge of Sustainable Aquaculture, recommends that fish farmers take responsibility for costs related to the environmental impacts of fish farming. This is known as “internalizing” costs and is a key principle for sustainability when conducting any kind of business. This report supports the principle that industry, and not the environment, should bear the cost of dealing with fish farming’s impacts. We have a few concerns with the report regarding, among other things, its vague language around “best practices” and a weak assessment of the state of science around certain impacts. Nonetheless, the report clearly identifies many of the negative effects of aquaculture and the pressing need to internalize costs and change practices, including government regulation and fiscal policy that allow costs to be externalized by business in the first place. To read more about this report please click here and also see a paper from the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform regarding the external costs of current salmon-farming practices here.
It’s Time to Commit to Ocean Management Plans
The countdown is on... June 8th, World Oceans Day, has been set by the David Suzuki Foundation and its allied environmental groups, the Living Oceans Society and the Sierra Club of BC, as the target date for the Federal Government to commit to better ocean management and a marine protected areas process in the north and central coast regions of British Columbia. “A comprehensive marine-planning process is needed to allow people who work and live on the coast to build a vision and a plan for sustainable economic development and conservation of the marine environment,” said Bill Wareham, senior marine conservation specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. On February 11th, the David Suzuki Foundation and its partners delivered clocks set to count down the days to World Oceans Day along with a list of initiatives they expect government to implement. The groups are asking the government to commit to:
Greenfish - Yellowfish: Sustainable Choices for Healthy Oceans 
Greenfish: North Atlantic Swordfish (Harpoon-Caught)
North Atlantic Swordfish stocks have been recovering since the 1990’s and harpoon-caught fish are now green-listed as a “best choice” on SeaChoice’s Sustainable Seafood Guide. Unfortunately only 10% of the Canadian swordfish brought to market are caught by harpoon and these products are rarely labeled to identify these sustainable efforts. High mercury levels have also been an issue of concern for some consumers so be sure to ask your retailer, follow consumption advisories and choose wisely!
Longline-caught swordfish are yellow-listed in SeaChoice's Sustainable Seafood Guide as a species with some concern. Yellow listing means we should limit our consumption of this fish, choose a green alternative if available and encourage reforms to this fishery. Pelagic longline gear is a critical concern due to the nature of the bycatch. Often more than 70% of the catch is made up of untargeted species which are often endangered populations. Be sure to think twice about how one fish on your plate may have taken the lives of multiple species to get there.
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