Canada Has the Policy Framework — Now We Need Action

In 2019, Canada amended the Fisheries Act to require rebuilding plans for depleted fish stocks. In April 2022, it released new regulations that specify the legal requirements for those rebuilding plans, including targets and timelines. It also released the first batch of stocks prescribed under the new regulations. Of the 30 included in that list, nearly half are in the critical zone. Those stocks now require a rebuilding plan to be developed or revised to meet the legal requirements within 24 months, unless the Fisheries Minister deems that an additional 12-month extension is necessary.

As a result, Canada has the legal tools it needs to ensure critically depleted populations get the rebuilding plans needed to help return abundance to our oceans. The regulations also add new levels of transparency. The Fisheries Minister is now required to publish any decision to extend timelines to create rebuilding plans, as well as any decision not to set a timeline for meeting rebuilding objectives.

Those changes were urgently needed. Although the vast majority of stocks are now included in Integrated Fisheries Management Plans, stocks in the critical zone need rebuilding plans that provide a clear pathway back to abundance. However, only six of Canada’s 33 critically depleted stocks currently have such plans in place — and many of them are insufficient.

Clearly there is more work to do. All critical and cautious stocks should be listed under the regulations as soon as possible. At the same time, other policies committing Canada to the Precautionary Approach and the principles of ecosystem- based fisheries management — including the Fishery Monitoring Policy — need to be implemented swiftly.

As threats like climate change, overfishing, biodiversity loss and pollution accelerate, the need to rebuild depleted fish populations has never been more urgent.

Over the past six years of Fishery Audits, the federal government has made significant investments, enacted new policies and modernized Canada’s Fisheries Act to require rebuilding plans for critically depleted stocks. However, these important actions have yet to make a meaningful difference on the water. Most key indicators haven’t changed since 2017.

Today, one in five stocks continues to be critically depleted, and the majority of them lack rebuilding plans. Less than a third of stocks can be confidently considered healthy. And the health of more than one-third continues to be classified as “uncertain” due to a lack of reference points and stock status.

Most of the long-standing critically depleted stocks are found in Atlantic Canada. These include groundfish and flatfish, many of which have not recovered from widespread collapses in the 1990s. Moreover, none of the Atlantic forage fish stocks populations that serve as key linchpins in the ecosystem are considered healthy.

Alarmingly, there are no healthy shark or skate species anywhere in Canadian waters, and a growing number of invertebrate stocks — including economically important species such as snow crab and shrimp — are now classified in the critical or cautious zones.

There are some reasons for optimism. Bocaccio rockfish moved from the critical zone to the healthy zone. Meanwhile, DFO’s closures of depleted Atlantic mackerel and 4T spring herring fisheries are giving these crucial forage stocks a chance to rebuild.

The biggest step forward was the release of new rebuilding regulations under the Fisheries Act in April 2022.

The first batch of stocks prescribed under the updated rules includes 30 major fish stocks, nearly half of which are in the critical zone. According to the regulations, DFO must develop rebuilding plans for these depleted stocks within 24 months, with the option to extend by another 12 months if deemed necessary. As a result, we can expect a big increase in the number of rebuilding plans over the next two years.

The regulations also add new levels of transparency by requiring the Fisheries Minister to publish any decision to extend timelines for creating rebuilding plans, as well as any decision not to set a timeline for meeting rebuilding objectives. If the Minister allows any fishing on a stock while its rebuilding plan is under development, the level of fishing must be kept at a level that supports rebuilding.

Canada now has the legislative, regulatory and policy framework in place to make real improvements for marine ecosystems and coastal communities — but only if those policies are implemented with the urgency required by the current state of wild fisheries.

That means completing high-quality rebuilding plans that include targets for stock rebuilding and timelines to achieve them, as well as what actions will be required and the methods to track progress. It means transparent decision-making that is consistent with growing stocks out of the critical zone while plans are in development and publishing plans on time. It means determining the health status of all stocks using the best available information. It means ensuring that all remaining depleted stocks are subject to the rebuilding regulations as soon as possible. And it means revising existing rebuilding plans to comply with the new Fisheries Act requirements.^{§, †}

These actions will allow Canada to make significant progress toward rebuilding abundance in our oceans, putting us in line with other progressive fishing nations that follow globally accepted standards of fisheries management.