Coastal Livelihoods

We want healthy, vibrant coastal communities where sustainable fisheries are a meaningful source of employment.

Why are we working on this?

We support fisheries that are both ecologically and economically sustainable. Atlantic Canada’s coastal communities have been hard hit by the collapses of fish stocks and the subsequent consolidation of the fishing industry, as well as the use of increasingly “efficient” fishing gear. In the 1990s, as groundfish populations collapsed, many fisheries were consolidated, unemployment in coastal communities skyrocketed and populations plummeted as people had no choice but to move away in search of work.

Today in Atlantic Canada, lobster fishing is the only fishery where a large number of coastal residents can still make a living. Ensuring that the lobster fishery remains an owner-operator fishery and working to improve access to small-scale sustainable fishing practices for coastal residents will help rebuild coastal communities while helping to restore a sustainable fishery.

Small-scale, independent fishermen are akin to small-scale farmers; they are the people who provide the fabric of renewable rural economies. As we are interested in restoring the resilience of the natural ecosystem, we are similarly concerned with the resilience of coastal communities. Implementing a true ecosystem approach to fisheries management will have to include small-scale fishermen who have knowledge of the natural history of the sea and who are willing to act as ecosystem stewards. With a rising global demand for sustainable seafood, we want to ensure that Canada’s small-scale, sustainable fisheries are able to take maximum advantage of local, regional and global markets.

Recent Initiatives and Successes

We work directly with coastal communities to support sustainable fishing practices and the development of local fish markets as part of increasing food security and engaging in the “food” tourism market. We contributed to the Fisheries Chapter of the People's Food Policy Project, which was officially launched on April 18, 2011. We have worked specifically on promoting the trap caught shrimp from Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia harpooned swordfish, and hook and line caught groundfish as locally and seasonally available sustainable seafood options.

Following the publication of our 2009 report entitled Local Seafood Direct Marketing: Emerging Trends for Small-scale Fishers in Nova Scotia, together with fishermen belonging to the Fundy Fixed Gear Council, we initiated the first Community Supported Fishery in Atlantic Canada, Off the Hook CSF. In its first year, we provided over 100 customers with fresh fish on a weekly basis during the fishing season. We gained national media attention in the Globe and Mail and MacLean’s Magazine.

As part of our community outreach and education, in collaboration with film director Martha Stiegman from Concordia University, the Bay of Fundy Marine Resource Centre and Bear River First Nations, we organized a film tour for In the Same Boat? The film tells two stories - one of the last handliner in Digby, Nova Scotia and the other of Bear River First Nations struggle for a food fishery. Both films address the challenges coastal communities face in maintaining sea-based livelihoods.