Fisheries Management

1. Fisheries Management Topics for this week Canada’s ‘ocean estate’, fisheries and management responsibilities Conflict and uncertainty with oceans and fisheries Governance arrangements to manage marine and freshwater fisheries resources Challenges: Sustainability of resources and communities, governance (DFO) and sovereignty Ways ahead .. Integrated and Co-Management ???

2. Why are Marine Environments Valuable? Living Marine Resources and their Values

3. The Maritime Zones of Canada’s Ocean Estate

4. The Maritime Zones of Canada’s Ocean Estate, cont’d

5. The Maritime Zones of Canada’s Ocean Estate, cont’d Source: Wikipedia

6. Canada’s ‘Ocean Estate’ Showing Potential Outer Limit of the Continental Shelf.

7. Characteristics of Canada’s Three Ocean Environments

8. Canada’s Fishing Industry Value of fisheries of $2.5 billion in 2009, of which 33% is aquaculture Total jobs in fishing are 70,000 About 85 per cent of Canada’s catches and aquaculture production is exported Conflict between economic growth and sustainability? DFO programs has titles like ‘renewal’ and ‘revitalized’, yet small-scale fisheries are facing extinction Freshwater fisheries (recreational vs commercial)

9. Governance and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) • Recall the federal government is responsible for fisheries management as defined by the Fisheries Act (1868) • Key department is Fisheries and Oceans Canada, formerly Department of Fisheries and Oceans (still called DFO) • Main areas of program activity: • Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture • Fisheries management • Aquaculture • Science for sustainable production • Healthy aquatic ecosystems • Oceans management • Habitat management • Science for healthy ecosystems

10. Threats Facing Canada’s Fisheries • Declining stocks on east and west coasts • ‘Inevitable’ collapses bring sustainability into question • Uncertainties about natural factors and human activities • Gaps in understanding how natural and human interactions affect marine and fisheries ecosystems • Governance issues ??? • Sovereignty, e.g. straddling stocks

11. Sovereignty Challenges Contested maritime boundaries and ‘sovereign rights’ 200 nautical mile limit, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Continental shelf extends beyond EEZ—see Figure 8.2 Who has sovereignty over Arctic waters? Claims made by Russia, Denmark, Norway, and US Each country preparing submission of proof to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Straddling fish stocks raise concerns about the prospect for international “fish wars” e.g. the Canada-Spain turbot incident

12. The Great “Turbot” War of 1995 • Straddling stocks are: “the same stock or stocks of associated species that occur both within the exclusive economic zone and in an area beyond and adjacent to the zone” (from UNCLOS) • Greenland turbot stocks straddle Canada’s EEZ in the Grand Banks, a coastal shelf rich in fish (e.g. cod) • Problem arose when a Spanish trawler was caught outside the EEZ catching turbot with illegal nets • An international incident resulted, culminating in Premier Tobin holding a press conference in NYC harbor • Raises the critical issue of how such stocks should be managed outside EEZs Brian Tobin

13. Uncertainty and Exploitation • Most of the oceans remain mysterious, unknown, and unexplored • Also, issues with who owns the high seas and their resources; fish are a fugitiveresource • As a result, humans have exploited the ‘deep frontier’, leaving devastation in some cases • Other examples: • Patagonian toothfish (Chilean Sea Bass – see below) • Pelagic (deep sea) whaling • Illustrates our ignorance of ecosystems and our focus on commercial resources

14. Case Study: Collapse of Canada’s East Coast Cod Fishery .. to this → • For over 500 years one of the most productive fisheries in the world but collapsed in early 1990s • Why the collapse? • Technological: proliferation of equipment and technology that increased the catch • Ecological uncertainty: uncertainty in assessing the cod as a resource • Socioeconomic: management decisions were also influenced by social and economic factors • Over 35,000 fishers and plant workers from over 400 coastal communities became unemployed

15. DFO and Fisheries Management • DFO legislation, policies, and programs to address conflict and uncertainty: • Conducting research on fish stocks • Monitoring of catches • Establishing quotas • Affirming management agreements with aboriginal peoples • Implementing restructuring and adjustment programs • Habitat protection and restoration projects • Canada’s Oceans Strategy (2002) • Promised more direct public involvement in policy and management • ‘Should’ be managed on the basis of 1) sustainable development; 2) integrated management; and 3) precautionary principle

16. But is DFO Part of the Problem? • What’s going on at DFO? “DFO at risk from budget cuts, change: internal review … NDP critic says department in chaos; U.S. analyst calls it an "implosion“ By Paul Withers, CBC NewsPosted: Nov 08, 2013 9:16 PM • Jurisdictional issues: (a) the Hinkson Decision (2009) regarding responsibility for aquaculture in BC, we discussed earlier • Jurisdictional issues: (b) Burnt Church conflict between First Nations and non-native fishers and DFO’s role; we also discussed this case earlier • Further issue of “muzzling” of DFO scientists • Mixed mandate: production and conservation ??

17. Ways ahead .. Sustainability and Ecosystem-based fisheries “… aims to manage fisheries in a manner that considers both natural and anthropogenic interactions” http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/displayimage-topd--112-7037.html

18. ‘Slow Fish’ for Sustainability(Guest statement) ‘Slow fish’ refers to three key actions: slow down fishing, scale down fisheries, and support small-scale fishing communities. The race for the last fish, the need to expand fisheries, and the neglect of the majority of fishers and their communities can be avoided Need to adopt a new ‘interactive’ governance approach focused on solving problems and creating opportunities through interactions among actors beyond governments

19. Toward Integrative and Co-Management • DFO defined integrated management as ‘a collaborative planning process that brings together interested stakeholders and regulators to reach general agreement on the best mix of conservation, sustainable use and economic development of marine areas for the benefit of all Canadians’ • Pilot project of integration and collaboration: Aquatic Management Board (AMB) • Comprised DFO, governing bodies from British Columbia, First Nations and other local areas • Co-management ??? • ‘the sharing of responsibilities, rights and duties between primary stakeholders, in particular, local communities and the nation state; a decentralized approach to decision making (World Bank) • Some First Nations prefer ‘joint management’