Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

We advocate for fishing and aquaculture practices that minimize harmful impacts on the marine ecosystem.

Why are we working on this?

Fishermen, scientists and marine conservationists agree that habitat destruction and bycatch from commercial fishing are two of the greatest threats to our marine ecosystem. Habitat damage occurs when unselective bottom fishing gears damage cold water corals, deep sea sponges and other sensitive seafloor features. Vibrant and diverse seafloor habitats are essential for maintaining marine biodiversity and productive fish populations. Bycatch and the discarding of non-target species, including fish, invertebrates, seabirds, sharks, turtles and marine mammals, can have broad impacts on marine foodwebs and ecosystem function. Canada does not regulate the impacts of bottom trawling, nor does it have a national bycatch policy to address incidental catch across all fisheries.

Nova Scotia’s aquaculture industry has been largely based on small scale shellfish farming and closed containment systems, of which we are supportive. A decision by the Nova Scotia government to expand the aquaculture industry is leading to conflict in coastal communities. Expansion of open-net finfish aquaculture also poses a major threat to the marine ecosystem: sea lice outbreaks, and the use of pesticides — both legal and illegal. The displacement of near-shore lobster habitats mean that traditional fisheries are being negatively impacted by aquaculture practices that are contaminating our shared waters.

Recent Successes and Initiatives

Fishing Gear Impacts

The genesis of our work on gear impacts in the early 1990s was fishermen’s concern about pulling up “trees” in their fishing gear. We undertook a research project to identify species of deep-water corals off the coast of Nova Scotia. This was followed by EAC co-hosting the First International Deep Sea Coral Symposium in 2000, which lead to a Canadian research program and the protection of three areas in Atlantic Canada from fishing. In 2006, we joined the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition in calling for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling and since then have worked internationally to achieve closed areas outside the 200 mile limit.

In 2008, together with the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) and the Living Oceans Society (LOS), we undertook a qualitative research project on the impacts of all fishing gears used in Canada and published How we Fish in Canada: An Analysis of the Ecological Impacts of Fishing Gears, which can be found at www.howwefish.ca. In 2007, we completed the study with a project with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association analyzing groundfish fisheries bycatch using different gear types and bait sources.

Together with the David Suzuki Foundation we have been working on reform in the Atlantic Canadian Surface Longline Fishery for swordfish and tuna, and attend national and international large pelagic fisheries management meetings. In response to the discard rate of sharks and turtles, we began the “Friends of Hector” campaign in 2010.

As part of our ongoing activities, we regularly attend Regional Advisory Processes (RAPs) in Atlantic Canada for existing, new and emerging fisheries. We participate in Species At Risk consultations and Recovery Potential Analyses for marine fish and mammal species that have been assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). We are also active stakeholders in all Atlantic Canada fishery assessments for Marine Stewardship Council certifications.

Aquaculture

As a result of growing concern about the expansion of net-pen finfish aquaculture, in 2010 the EAC joined with several other organizations, fishing associations and concerned citizens for form the Atlantic Coalition for Aquaculture Reform. We have also been regularly attending the Annual Nova Scotia Aquaculture meeting, Scotian Pride. We work on aquaculture reform through SeaChoice and collaborative efforts with organizations on the Pacific coast.