The federal Fisheries Department’s failure to properly monitor the country’s commercial fishing industry could lead to overfishing, a new audit from Canada’s environment commissioner says.
“DFO has a number of sources of information that enable us to effectively monitor fisheries and incorporate data into the decision-making process,” the department said in the statement, though it acknowledged that “better is always possible.” A fishing moratorium imposed in 1992, which was eventually extended to other groundfish stocks, wiped out more than 30,000 jobs, marking the largest mass layoff in Canadian history. Within a year, the entire $700-million enterprise — and way of life — was gone.
DeMarco’s audit said the department responded by creating a new fishery monitoring policy, but he said that policy has yet to be implemented. As of this year, none of Canada’s 156 federally managed commercial fish stocks has been assessed for adequate monitoring, the report says. Under an interim protocol introduced in 2017, the companies that employ third-party observers must declare conflicts of interest, such as family or business ties with fish harvesters. As well, the department was required to maintain a national list of declared conflicts and monitor mitigation measures.