Search

In 2015, the Government of Canada committed to protecting 5% of marine and coastal areas by 2017, and 10% by 2020. While admirable progress towards this target has been made, less attention has been given to improving the quality of protection afforded to marine areas. Extensive scientific study supports that several factors are critical to the success of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for marine biodiversity conservation and management objectives, including no-take areas and prohibitions on extractive and industrial activities. However, the majority of Canada's MPAs allow extractive uses within their boundaries. As Canada works toward international and national commitments to marine protection targets, it is critical to consider the degree of protection afforded by the legal designations used to create these areas. This paper reviews the current inconsistent standards of protection across marine protected areas (MPAs) designated under the Oceans Act , Canada's flagship legislation for marine protection. Recommended amendments to the law include standards of protection that would exclude all extractive industrial activities from MPAs in order to better guide the designation and decision-making processes for marine protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access, defined as the ability to use and benefit from available marine resources or areas of the ocean or coast, is important for the well-being and sustainability of coastal communities. In Canada, access to marine resources and ocean spaces is a significant issue for many coastal and Indigenous communities due to intensifying activity and competition in the marine environment. The general trend of loss of access has implications for these communities, and for Canadian society. In this review and policy perspective, we argue that access for coastal and Indigenous communities should be a priority consideration in all policies and decision-making processes related to fisheries and the ocean in Canada. This paper reviews how access affects the well-being of coastal communities, factors that support or undermine access, and research priorities to inform policy. Recommended actions include: ensuring access is transparently considered in all ocean-related decisions; supporting research to fill knowledge gaps on access to enable effective responses; making data accessible and including communities in decision-making that grants or restricts access to adjacent marine resources and spaces; ensuring updated laws, policies and planning processes explicitly incorporate access considerations; and, identifying and prioritizing actions to maintain and increase access. Taking action now could reverse the current trend and ensure that coastal and Indigenous communities thrive in the future. This is not just a Canadian issue. Globally, the ability of coastal and Indigenous communities to access and benefit from the marine environment should be at the forefront in all deliberations related to the oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultimate intention of seafarer welfare services is for maritime workers to be served in Canada as systematically and effectively as possible while considering the greatest possible sensitivity to their needs. This paper provides an overview of such services available in Canadian ports and includes case studies of the Port of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), and of the Catholic seafarers' ministry, Stella Maris. Two research questions were addressed: 1) where and how is the welfare of foreign seafarers in Canadian ports inadequate, and 2) how can the expertise and resources of those already involved be marshalled to improve support? Existing research on seafarers' welfare was synthesized, seafarers' welfare professionals across Canada consulted through interviews and surveys, and key informants were interviewed in the Port of St. John's, NL. The research findings show that Canadian charities, businesses, government, and labour representatives are united in support of seafarers' welfare. Furthermore, there is a general interest in filling gaps where they are found, particularly through participation in the Canadian National Seafarers' Welfare Board. Welfare organizations also actively promote cooperation, professionalism, and the development of new resources for seafarers' welfare. However, there are still gaps: foreign seafarers are offered a wide range of services in many Canadian ports but internet and enforcement of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006′s standards for shore leave and crew change are still pressing welfare issues. Welfare workers are stretched thin everywhere and some busy ports must make do with the best efforts of shipping agents where welfare workers are absent. In response to these limitations to seafarer welfare supports, we recommend that the Canadian government, as agents active within a maritime nation, and the maritime community take a more active role in supporting seafarers' welfare, including financially and through welfare boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's ocean ecosystem health and functioning is critical to sustaining a strong maritime economy and resilient coastal communities. Yet despite the importance of Canada's oceans and coasts, federal ocean policy and management have diverged substantially from marine science in the past decade. In this paper, key areas where this is apparent are reviewed: failure to fully implement the Oceans Act , alterations to habitat protections historically afforded under Canada's Fisheries Act , and lack of federal leadership on marine species at risk. Additionally, the capacity of the federal government to conduct and communicate ocean science has been eroded of late, and this situation poses a significant threat to current and future oceans public policy. On the eve of a federal election, these disconcerting threats are described and a set of recommendations to address them is developed. These trends are analyzed and summarized so that Canadians understand ongoing changes to the health of Canada's oceans and the role that their elected officials can play in addressing or ignoring them. Additionally, we urge the incoming Canadian government, regardless of political persuasion, to consider the changes we have documented and commit to aligning federal ocean policy with ocean science to ensure the health of Canada's oceans and ocean dependent communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Internationally, shark conservation is now being recognized as a major environmental challenge, but management efforts to halt the overexploitation of sharks have lagged behind. This review examines the state of knowledge for shark species in Canadian waters and analyzes the role of existing management and legislation in ensuring shark conservation. Despite Canada''s early leadership, the present management framework reveals major shortcomings with regard to legal protection, bycatch and finning regulations. These problems are not unique to Canada but illustrate broader issues pertaining to the global management of endangered fish species. To strengthen the conservation and management of sharks, this paper recommends a set of key policies and management priorities, which exemplify proper precautionary management of endangered shark species in Canada and could serve as a blueprint for improving conservation efforts internationally. A structured approach for grading progress in shark conservation efforts against best practices is also presented and could be used as a goalpost elsewhere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the context of the growing climate emergency and the negative social and environmental impacts of the industrial food system, significant attention is focused on the question of how we will feed ourselves sustainably. Small-scale fisheries are receiving more attention and communities are increasingly resisting a resourcist perspective that treats fish as a commodity by engaging in efforts to (re)envision fisheries as part of food systems. This paper presents four case studies from freshwater and marine fisheries across Canada to demonstrate ways of using food systems as an organizing concept to protect small-scale fisheries, build sustainable communities, and influence fisheries governance and policy. Insights are shared from the lobster fishery in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia; fish and country foods harvesting in Kakisa, Northwest Territories; traditional fisheries of Batchewana First Nation on Lake Superior, Ontario; and the national sustainable seafood partnership program, SeaChoice. We conclude by providing our collective ideas for how governance and policy may better support sustainability at the nexus of fisheries and food systems, emphasizing a need for structures and policies that are better adapted to the contexts of small-scale fisheries and that empower community participation in decision-making. • The food system is an integrative lens for analyzing small-scale fisheries. • Policy needs to support sustainability at the nexus of fisheries and food systems. • Communities are mobilizing to influence governance of food and fishing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Canada is in the process of developing an oceans strategy and management regime for sustainable ocean development. Thispaper examines the implications of this approach. It develops a basic economic and management framework for dealing with sustainable oceans development, examines some of the issues associated with ocean industries in Canada, and points out some of the inadequacies of Canada's present management of ocean industries (a method that utilizes an individual-industry focus). The paper supports the thesis that a sustainable ocean management regime could be more efficient and effective in solving some of the current and future difficulties faced by Canada's ocean industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]