Reduce fisheries bycatch and seafloor habitat destruction

% Green:
93.00
% Yellow:
5.80
% Red:
1.20
Voting Detail:
Plenary
% Ratified:
0.00

Party Commentary

This policy is consistent with Green Party policies on Oceans and Fisheries (eg. G06-p28 Atlantic Fisheries). One of the elements of the resolution (specifically the objective of banning bottom trawling) duplicates existing policy G00-p8 Dragging. However, this policy proposal is very detailed and comprehensive and covers more than dragging/bottom trawling. Accordingly, it would make sense to substitute this proposal for existing G00-p8. However, G00-p8 also commits the party to working toward identifying optimal methods of remediating the seafloor after damage from dragging/bottom trawling.

Preamble

WHEREAS many fishing practices in Canada, such as bottom trawling, longlining and gillnetting, can have high levels of bycatch, and some, such as bottom trawling and dredging, are also causing extensive damage and destruction to marine seabed habitats,

AND WHEREAS bycatch is one of the most significant issues facing fisheries management today, affecting biodiversity through impacts on top predators, the removal of individuals from many species, the elimination of prey, and the mortality of juvenile fish before they reach their optimum size to provide future yield; and contributing to the decimation of healthy fish populations, which are vital for ocean resilience against the impacts of climate change,

AND WHEREAS bottom trawling, which catches the highest volume of fish in Canada, can have serious impacts on habitat and bethnic fauna, and can affect ecosystem stability, productivity, diversity and the structure and function of food webs, and is considered to be the most ecologically damaging of all fishing practices,

AND WHEREAS scallop dredging, which accounts for the fourth highest catch by weight, also has a high impact on seafloor ecology,

AND WHEREAS as part of the Conservative Government’s omnibus bill C-38, amendments to the Fisheries Act significantly reduce fish habitat protection by restricting the Act’s management and enforcement provisions to commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries, while failing to protect habitat. (Background Note 1)

AND WHEREAS neither fisheries law nor habitat policy currently applies to or addresses the ecosystem impacts of commercial fishing on seafloor habitat, nor are the habitat impacts of different fishing gears on fish habitat included in fisheries management plans, nor does fisheries management apply a risk averse strategy to avoiding ecosystem impacts of fishing,

AND WHEREAS some management measures for addressing commercial bycatch are in place and, in 2013, Canada adopted a Policy on Managing Bycatch as part of its Sustainable Fisheries Framework, only selected fisheries are managed with bycatch quotas or with bycatch mitigation measures for non-target species, resulting in significant unrecorded discarding of marine species and damage to marine habitat,

AND WHEREAS some gear modifications and bycatch reduction devices have been applied in Canadian fisheries, many are only voluntarily practiced and not mandatory,

Operative

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada will build upon existing policy and legal framework to develop an ecosystem-based national bycatch and discard policy that includes:

  • taking into consideration all species (including non-commercial species) and their ecosystem roles,
  • implementing ecologically risk adverse strategies to minimize the impacts of fishing gear on habitat and bycatch, and
  • prioritizing minimization of habitat destruction and incidental catch and discarding of target and non-target species.

This work will necessarily require adequate data collection, research and monitoring systems, including at-sea monitoring, habitat monitoring systems, and consultation with marine scientists to support the understanding and management of ecosystem impacts that occur as a result of removing non-commercial, incidentally-caught “bycatch” species.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Canada’s long-term strategy will be to work towards a total ban on bottom trawling in domestic waters and to research and promote modifications to scallop dredges to reduce damage to the seabed and its fauna. (The economic significance of bottom trawl and scallop dredge fisheries in Canada and the current research stage of low-impact dredging gear dictate that these are long-term goals.)

and The Green Party of Canada’s short-term strategy will include:

  • working internationally to promote and institute a global ban on bottom trawling on the high seas;
  • implementing bycatch limits for commonly caught commercial and non-commercial species, as well as for species at risk, and ensuring retained bycatch does not exceed established quotas for the species;
  • working to transition from high-impact gear types to low-impact gear types using incentives such as bycatch limits and individual or fleet-wide quotas to promote lower bycatch practices (in many fisheries different gear types are used to target the same species);
  • working with fisheries that retain high levels of bycatch to reduce the non-targeted species in different gear systems through bycatch avoidance measures as applicable to specific fisheries, such as those recommended by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and other relevant institutions, including: mandatory implementation of applicable gear changes (e.g. circle hooks vs J hooks in longline fisheries) and bycatch reduction devices (e.g. turtle extruder devices in trawl nets); improved equipment and handling techniques for post-capture release survival; operational techniques to reduce encounters with bycatch (such as hook depth, bait changes, daytime-only fishing, and time-sensitive closures); measures to address ghost fishing (where applicable);
  • allowing landing of non-targeted catch and bans on returning dead catch to the water;
  • closing sensitive habitats and areas of high bycatch to gear types with significant ecosystem impacts (where appropriate, in collaboration with marine protected areas strategy);
  • limiting expansion of fishing and potential bycatch to depths greater than 500 meters, which are characterized by ecosystems adapted to little natural disturbance;
  • ensuring new fisheries, particularly in the Arctic, utilize low-impact fishing methods and gear types that have minimal ecological impacts, and providing any federal funding support only to such new fisheries.
Sponsors:
Andrew Haigh, Brian Smallshaw, Tommy Mitchell, Ron MacKenzie, Margaret MacKenzie, Jean Jordan, Jan Slakov, Brian Timlick, Joanna Montrichard, Juliana West, Climate Change Advisory Group, Toronto-Danforth EDA

Background

Large-scale, industrial fishing has increased dramatically over the last few decades and with it, the use of higher-impact gear and the scale of unsustainable fishing practices, many of which use unselective fishing gear and have high levels of bycatch (incidental capture) and some of which can cause seafloor habitat damage or destruction.

Worldwide, fishermen throw away more than 20% of their catch as bycatch, which can include undersized individuals of the target fish species, non-target fish species, sponges, coral, and other marine animals. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, including seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises, die every year as bycatch from destructive fishing practices.

Some seafloor damage can be caused by bottom-set nets and hooks, but bottom trawlers, which drag large weighted nets along the sea bed and grab up everything in their path larger than their nets’ meshes, have the most devastating impact on marine ecosystems.

Bycatch and habitat destruction are major problems in many Canadian fisheries, where studies indicate that the gears used most extensively have the highest impact. Bycatch levels are high for many fisheries. And bottom trawling, which accounts for the most landings, and scallop dredging, which uses large metal dredges that rake the seabed, are both having a high impact on seafloor ecology. E.g. the pelagic longline fishery in Nova Scotia has approximately 50% bycatch, including sharks, leatherback and loggerhead turtles; the Pacific groundfish bottom trawl fleet has an estimated 23% bycatch, dominated by predatory fish; bottom and midwater gillnetting on both coasts have high levels of seabird bycatch.

As well, expansion of trawling into previously untrawled areas, which can be less resilient to fishing pressure, continues on all coasts of Canada, with the most rapid expansion occurring in the eastern Arctic Ocean, where there is no legislation that protects the seafloor or its inhabitants.

Note #1: Bill C-38 amended section 35(1) of the Fisheries Act to restrict the prohibition, “no person shall carry on any work or undertaking that results in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.” to “any work, undertaking or activity that results in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery, or to fish that support such a fishery.”

Code

G14-P17

Proposal Type

Policy

Submitter Name

Michelle Mech

Party Commentary

This policy is consistent with Green Party policies on Oceans and Fisheries (eg. G06-p28 Atlantic Fisheries). One of the elements of the resolution (specifically the objective of banning bottom trawling) duplicates existing policy G00-p8 Dragging. However, this policy proposal is very detailed and comprehensive and covers more than dragging/bottom trawling. Accordingly, it would make sense to substitute this proposal for existing G00-p8. However, G00-p8 also commits the party to working toward identifying optimal methods of remediating the seafloor after damage from dragging/bottom trawling.

Preamble

WHEREAS many fishing practices in Canada, such as bottom trawling, longlining and gillnetting, can have high levels of bycatch, and some, such as bottom trawling and dredging, are also causing extensive damage and destruction to marine seabed habitats,

AND WHEREAS bycatch is one of the most significant issues facing fisheries management today, affecting biodiversity through impacts on top predators, the removal of individuals from many species, the elimination of prey, and the mortality of juvenile fish before they reach their optimum size to provide future yield; and contributing to the decimation of healthy fish populations, which are vital for ocean resilience against the impacts of climate change,

AND WHEREAS bottom trawling, which catches the highest volume of fish in Canada, can have serious impacts on habitat and bethnic fauna, and can affect ecosystem stability, productivity, diversity and the structure and function of food webs, and is considered to be the most ecologically damaging of all fishing practices,

AND WHEREAS scallop dredging, which accounts for the fourth highest catch by weight, also has a high impact on seafloor ecology,

AND WHEREAS as part of the Conservative Government’s omnibus bill C-38, amendments to the Fisheries Act significantly reduce fish habitat protection by restricting the Act’s management and enforcement provisions to commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries, while failing to protect habitat. (Background Note 1)

AND WHEREAS neither fisheries law nor habitat policy currently applies to or addresses the ecosystem impacts of commercial fishing on seafloor habitat, nor are the habitat impacts of different fishing gears on fish habitat included in fisheries management plans, nor does fisheries management apply a risk averse strategy to avoiding ecosystem impacts of fishing,

AND WHEREAS some management measures for addressing commercial bycatch are in place and, in 2013, Canada adopted a Policy on Managing Bycatch as part of its Sustainable Fisheries Framework, only selected fisheries are managed with bycatch quotas or with bycatch mitigation measures for non-target species, resulting in significant unrecorded discarding of marine species and damage to marine habitat,

AND WHEREAS some gear modifications and bycatch reduction devices have been applied in Canadian fisheries, many are only voluntarily practiced and not mandatory,

Operative

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada will build upon existing policy and legal framework to develop an ecosystem-based national bycatch and discard policy that includes:

  • taking into consideration all species (including non-commercial species) and their ecosystem roles,
  • implementing ecologically risk adverse strategies to minimize the impacts of fishing gear on habitat and bycatch, and
  • prioritizing minimization of habitat destruction and incidental catch and discarding of target and non-target species.

This work will necessarily require adequate data collection, research and monitoring systems, including at-sea monitoring, habitat monitoring systems, and consultation with marine scientists to support the understanding and management of ecosystem impacts that occur as a result of removing non-commercial, incidentally-caught “bycatch” species.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Canada’s long-term strategy will be to work towards a total ban on bottom trawling in domestic waters and to research and promote modifications to scallop dredges to reduce damage to the seabed and its fauna. (The economic significance of bottom trawl and scallop dredge fisheries in Canada and the current research stage of low-impact dredging gear dictate that these are long-term goals.)

and The Green Party of Canada’s short-term strategy will include:

  • working internationally to promote and institute a global ban on bottom trawling on the high seas;
  • implementing bycatch limits for commonly caught commercial and non-commercial species, as well as for species at risk, and ensuring retained bycatch does not exceed established quotas for the species;
  • working to transition from high-impact gear types to low-impact gear types using incentives such as bycatch limits and individual or fleet-wide quotas to promote lower bycatch practices (in many fisheries different gear types are used to target the same species);
  • working with fisheries that retain high levels of bycatch to reduce the non-targeted species in different gear systems through bycatch avoidance measures as applicable to specific fisheries, such as those recommended by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and other relevant institutions, including: mandatory implementation of applicable gear changes (e.g. circle hooks vs J hooks in longline fisheries) and bycatch reduction devices (e.g. turtle extruder devices in trawl nets); improved equipment and handling techniques for post-capture release survival; operational techniques to reduce encounters with bycatch (such as hook depth, bait changes, daytime-only fishing, and time-sensitive closures); measures to address ghost fishing (where applicable);
  • allowing landing of non-targeted catch and bans on returning dead catch to the water;
  • closing sensitive habitats and areas of high bycatch to gear types with significant ecosystem impacts (where appropriate, in collaboration with marine protected areas strategy);
  • limiting expansion of fishing and potential bycatch to depths greater than 500 meters, which are characterized by ecosystems adapted to little natural disturbance;
  • ensuring new fisheries, particularly in the Arctic, utilize low-impact fishing methods and gear types that have minimal ecological impacts, and providing any federal funding support only to such new fisheries.

Sponsors

Andrew Haigh, Brian Smallshaw, Tommy Mitchell, Ron MacKenzie, Margaret MacKenzie, Jean Jordan, Jan Slakov, Brian Timlick, Joanna Montrichard, Juliana West, Climate Change Advisory Group, Toronto-Danforth EDA

Background

Large-scale, industrial fishing has increased dramatically over the last few decades and with it, the use of higher-impact gear and the scale of unsustainable fishing practices, many of which use unselective fishing gear and have high levels of bycatch (incidental capture) and some of which can cause seafloor habitat damage or destruction.

Worldwide, fishermen throw away more than 20% of their catch as bycatch, which can include undersized individuals of the target fish species, non-target fish species, sponges, coral, and other marine animals. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, including seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises, die every year as bycatch from destructive fishing practices.

Some seafloor damage can be caused by bottom-set nets and hooks, but bottom trawlers, which drag large weighted nets along the sea bed and grab up everything in their path larger than their nets’ meshes, have the most devastating impact on marine ecosystems.

Bycatch and habitat destruction are major problems in many Canadian fisheries, where studies indicate that the gears used most extensively have the highest impact. Bycatch levels are high for many fisheries. And bottom trawling, which accounts for the most landings, and scallop dredging, which uses large metal dredges that rake the seabed, are both having a high impact on seafloor ecology. E.g. the pelagic longline fishery in Nova Scotia has approximately 50% bycatch, including sharks, leatherback and loggerhead turtles; the Pacific groundfish bottom trawl fleet has an estimated 23% bycatch, dominated by predatory fish; bottom and midwater gillnetting on both coasts have high levels of seabird bycatch.

As well, expansion of trawling into previously untrawled areas, which can be less resilient to fishing pressure, continues on all coasts of Canada, with the most rapid expansion occurring in the eastern Arctic Ocean, where there is no legislation that protects the seafloor or its inhabitants.

Note #1: Bill C-38 amended section 35(1) of the Fisheries Act to restrict the prohibition, “no person shall carry on any work or undertaking that results in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.” to “any work, undertaking or activity that results in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery, or to fish that support such a fishery.”