Health-care program needed for Canada's oceans

June 5, 2007 - VANCOUVER - The federal government should commit $600 million over five years to improve Canada's performance on ocean conservation, according to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Friday, June 8, is World Ocean Day. Created in 1992 at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Ocean Day was intended to focus attention on the need to protect our global ocean resources. But Canada has done little to meet the challenge, despite signing international agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity and passing a national Oceans Act, says Bill Wareham, acting director of marine conservation for the David Suzuki Foundation.

"The condition of Canada's oceans is getting worse and Canada is falling behind other developed nations, like Australia and New Zealand, in protecting its oceans," Mr. Wareham says. "Canada is definitely headed in the wrong direction. We're degrading natural habitat, increasing pollution and failing to provide the necessary planning for and protection of ocean and costal environments."

In the 15 years since the first Ocean Day, Canada has added 29 species of marine fish to our Species at Risk list, including the Atlantic cod, Interior Fraser coho and the basking shark. Only four of these species have received legal protection under Canada's Species at Risk Act.

In addition:

- Canada has protected only 0.12 per cent of its oceans.

- Canada has inflicted a variety of habitat-damaging activities on its oceans, including major expansions of bottom trawling in all three oceans.

- Toxic fire retardants (PBDEs) found in marine mammals have increased by 7,000 per cent and are doubling every 3.5 to four years.

"Given Canada's international commitments and legislated mandate under Canada's Oceans Act, we should be taking a global leadership role in protecting our coastal and ocean environments," Mr. Wareham says. "We need a health-care program for our coastal and ocean environments."

The Suzuki Foundation is calling on the federal government to increase its investment in initiatives that will turn the tide on the health of our oceans and guarantee that we have healthy ocean environments.

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For more information, contact:

Bill Wareham, Acting Director, Marine Conservation, (604) 740-4318
Ian Hanington, Communications Specialist, (604) 732-4228, ext. 238