Blue Fish Canada/Poisson Bleu CanadaBlue Fish News – May 25, 2024
What’s New at Blue Fish Canada
Work is advancing on the new Blue Fish Exploration Centre. Accessible paths are being installed, new bunkies built, solar generation and storage solutions implemented, a new dock system procured, and so much more. Moving forward is like juggling countless balls – they all need to be kept moving or the entire project will come to a stop. Can’t wait for the doors to open and programming to start. In the meantime, boats are being launched and fishing is well underway, thank goodness.
This Week’s Feature – Commonalities of Recreational, Small and Large-Scale Fisheries
By L. Gunther
In the past few editions of the Blue Fish News we have explored the influence of technological advancements on recreational and small-scale commercial fisheries. There’s one more element to this discussion that we need to cover, and that’s large-scale commercial fishing. While the three forms of fishing may use different systems for catching fishes, they also share similar technologies meant to increase the efficiency in which fishing is conducted. Unfortunately, in many instances technology is increasingly impacting fish stocks negatively due to fishery science and regulations governing fishing failing to keep pace.
The editorial on small scale fisheries concluded that such fishers are eager to adopt the latest technologies meant to reduce time spent on the water by increasing their ability to catch fish. While many local fishers are recognized as stewards of the resource, it doesn’t stop them from seeking tools that maximize their efficiency on the water. It’s a desire that can be traced back thousands of years and covers everything from nets to hooks to navigational aids, and now electronics.
Recreational anglers share with small scale commercial fishers a common desire to catch more and bigger fish more frequently. Whether to win competitions, to feed their families and communities, or to simply maximize their enjoyment on the water, every angler wants their time spent fishing to be memorable. The goal of any angler is to become more effective at catching fishes, and may include gaining wider public recognition of their fishing prowess.
I recently watched not for the first time the movie The Perfect Storm, and have read the book. What comes through is the desire among captain and crew alike to balance risk of loss of boat and life with a strong desire to catch fish. Yes, catching fishes means getting paid, but they also seek to be recognized as more than lucky. They want to prove to their families and peers that they are highly competent fishers. In the end, it was the pursuit of this recognition and money that overrode their concern of approaching storms that led to the loss of the Andria Gail and all aboard.
I think all of us would like to think that modern offshore commercial fishing vessels and their captains represent the latest in innovations and safety on the water. We are presented with exactly this ideal when we watch Deadliest Catch, a reality show that follows the captains and crew of crab boats that fish in some of the harshest conditions on the planet between Siberia and Alaska on the Bering Sea. We root for these captains and their crews who risk everything to catch their limits of crab against all odds, and even though they represent the best the free-market economy has to offer, loss of both vessels and crew at sea still occur.
Turns out what we watch on TV has little to do with the reality facing most high seas fishing vessels and their crews. Instead, the ships and captains that make up the largest-ever fishing machinery put to sea on the most spartan ships are crewed by people who are often little more than indentured slaves. These ships and crew spend upwards of two years at sea, receiving regular visits from supply vessels to offload processed fish, and re-supply the ships with fuel and food. It’s a form of fishing taken to the extreme, and resembles the voyages of whaling ships that once sailed half-way around the world and back in pursuit of their prey. It’s no wonder then that commercial fishers experience the highest incidence of mortality compared to other professions, and it isn’t always the fault of the weather.
Every year we hear of recreational fishers who have lost their lives pursuing fish aboard all manner of watercraft, breaking through ice, or while wading rivers. While we all share a common desire to catch fish, we know that it’s essential to exercise caution. Unfortunately, many of us accept higher than what many would consider acceptable levels of risk in our pursuit of quality fishing experiences or the recognition from others that we are more than simply good at fishing. Add in the temptation to earn cash or prizes, our effort to mitigate risk can be shrunk even further. Unfortunately, this acceptance of increased risk can also apply to the resource itself. It’s why we anglers and fishers alike believe in the need to set in place and enforce rules and restrictions that govern how we go about catching fishes and the number of fish we catch.
Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila from the University of British Columbia is one of the world’s leading thinkers on the topics of commercial fishing. His credentials include appointment as Canada’s Research Chair, Director of the UBC Fisheries Economics Research Unit, Co-Director of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and so much more. His exploration of interdisciplinary ocean and fisheries economics has earned him recognition as a world-leading thinker on the topic of sustainable large-scale fishing. Link below to listen to my conversation with Dr. Sumaila on The Blue Fish Radio Show, where we talked about the future capacity of the world’s ocean to feed the planet.
I’ve received a lot of feedback from previous editorials on the topic of anglers and fishers gaining unfair advantage by adopting the latest innovations. There are many who believe that we need to reel in access to such technologies by all people who fish for fun, prizes and financial rewards, as well as food.
The need to better manage the application of fishing technology was made apparent when my grandmother relented to my persistent requests to organize a day on a North Sea commercial shrimping boat for my brother and myself, ages 14 and 12 at the time. Turns out way more than 95% of what the drag nets brought up and dumped on to the ship’s deck had to be shoveled by the two of us back over the side of the boat, much of which was injured or dead. It was obvious to us both that the cost to marine life in pursuit of North Sea shrimp seemed unjustifiable.
If it weren’t for government regulations, cars and trucks would be built and sold with next-to-no personal safety equipment such as airbags, tempered glass, crumple zones, seat belts or anti-lock braking systems. Regulations also exist that govern fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions. But we don’t put limits on the amount of power car and truck engines generate or their maximum payloads or speed, as this might strike many as curtailing the rights of motor vehicle operators.
Recreational fishing boats also have regulated safety features such as built-in floatation, limits on the number of passengers, mandatory anchors and life saving equipment, and power ratings governing the size of outboards. Commercial fishing boats also now must pass safety standards and carry aboard required safety equipment. But none of these vessels operate under regulations that focus the use of technology to catch only desired fishes, or that limits the harmful impacts of such technology on ecosystems.
Current fishing regulations focus on setting limits on the number and size of specific fishes that can be pursued or harvested. We are only beginning to regulate how technology can be applied to curtail the incidental capture of undesired species of aquatic or marine life, or to preserve the overall balance of such ecosystems.
No one who fishes wants to go back to using primitive technologies for harvesting fish when new more efficient and safer systems now exist. Even first nations fishers use modern fishing technologies and vessels. For all the reasons described above, people who fish want to be as successful as possible at fishing, while minimizing the chance of injury, death or property loss. At the same time, there is growing recognition among both anglers and fishers of the increasing power of many recent innovations, raising concerns over the long-term sustainability of our natural resources.
Technology itself isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s the failure to keep fishing regulations current with how people use technology to catch fish. If catching limits of fishes is growing increasingly likely, then maybe we need to take another look at how limits are set and how fishing is conducted.
Since the dawn of recreational fishing, harvest limits have been viewed as some sort of bar that only the best among us are capable of reaching. A sort of brass ring that demonstrates our having become highly competent at catching fishes.
It may be time to create limits that recognize most all anglers and fishers now possess the competency and technology to easily fulfil our daily catch and possession limits. Regulations that go beyond harvesting limits and include rules that more closely govern not only when we can pursue different fishes, but where and how.
For any new regulations to be credible, we need to invest more in the science needed to Taylor such limits to the reality of each specific water body. Not only the capacity to sustainably support such limits, but rules that ensure the welfare of fishes, protect fish habitat, and safeguard ecosystems in general.
Thankfully, Canada has already been shifting away from using the low-cost strategy of simply shutting down a fishery when fish stocks show signs of being over-harvested., We are moving towards adopting rules that seek to balance fishing pressure with the health of ecosystems and the welfare of fishes. These new more nuanced regulations are not only accepted and followed, but welcomed by most anglers and fishers.
Science-based regulations reduce the need to close fisheries, a drastic measure that can lead to the deterioration of the socio-economic stability of indigenous and coastal communities. Fishing closures also often mean key components of ecosystems needed to maintain nature’s balance have been dangerously reduced.
The science needed to maintain sustainable harvesting pressure and the balance within ecosystems being fished now exists. The challenge now is to ensure science is applied in ways that match changes in fishing pressure such as those brought about by technological innovations.
We regulate the safety of places of work, our homes, the tools we buy and use, and the vehicles we drive or that we share the roads with. Not only for our safety, but the good of the planet. But when it comes to overfishing, we need to stop making anglers and fishers the scapegoats when fishing stocks are depleted, or the welfare of fishes impacted. Catch and punish poachers for sure but making us all out to be unethical witless greedy people that can’t be trusted to do what’s right, when what’s needed are regulations that ensure Canada’s fishes are captured and harvested sustainably and ethically is the true crime.
In short, the failure of applying the science to ensure regulations stay abreast of advances in fishing innovations not only unfairly criminalizes anglers and fishers, but threatens ecosystems, puts at risk fish health, and undermines the welfare of fishes. The misalignment of regulations with the values held by anglers and fishers has proven especially destructive to indigenous and coastal communities. Personal and community values that also apply to the health and welfare of fishes. Setting aside the debate over whether fish feel pain, they are in fact sentient and deserving of humane treatment, but that’s a topic for a future editorial.
The Latest Fishing, Fish Health and Fish Habitat News
Fishing:
Anglers looking for salmon — and some optimism — as concerns grow about the Codroy River / CBC
Newfoundland salmon fishers fear that conditions in the Codroy River are getting worse every year, writes Gord Follett, but he’s holding out hope they’ll return and recover. “Salmon farms on the south coast, 50-100 seals in the barachois every day are huge factors that can be easily dealt with, but our Liberal governments don’t care,” he said. He’d rather see the farms moved on land to better protect wild salmon and more seal hunting licences issued.
Federal fisheries regulators still in early stages of wrestling with salmon bycatch /| The Cordova Times
Federal fisheries regulators tasked with mediating conflicts over salmon bycatch in the groundfish fisheries between trawlers and commercial and subsistence salmon harvesters have updated their list of alternatives to be analyzed, but are a long way from resolving the problem.
Dire Straits: Can a Fishing Ban Save the Elusive European Eel? / Yale Environment 360
There’s a new push to ban fishing for the European eel, a staple of continental cuisine. The iconic eel is facing a multitude of threats, from pollution to disease to overfishing, and efforts to halt the decline of the elusive fish have so far fallen short. No one has ever seen eels reproducing in the wild, much less figured out how to breed them on farms. Scientists are now calling for a total shutdown of the fishery, which many see as the last option after years of neglect.
5 people from Maine arrested during DFO elver fishery patrol in Nova Scotia / CBC
Canadian officers arrested five people from Maine who were illegally fishing in Nova Scotia rivers for elvers, or baby glass eels—the most valuable commercial fish in Canada by weight. Altogether, 95 people have been arrested since early March, when the minister closed the fishery for another year due to a slew of violent altercations over Indigenous rights and commercial fishing.
North Pacific Fisheries Commission Takes Steps to Improve Fisheries Management, Labor Standards, and Illegal Fishing Management / NOAA
The United States continued to advance its objectives to improve international fisheries management through a successful 8th meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission. Members adopted a revised compliance monitoring scheme and a U.S. proposal to promote labor protections for fishing vessel crews. Other decisions strengthen monitoring of fishing vessels and make progress on protecting deep-sea ecosystems.
These anglers are helping sustain Thunder Bay, Ont.’s ‘world-class’ urban fishing spots / CBC
Urban anglers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are flocking to streams and rivers as rainbow trout have begun their spawning run. Longtime anglers say this urban fishing oasis is unique and needs to be protected.
Fish:
Drastic decline in wild Atlantic salmon in the Conne River, due mainly to aquaculture says new comprehensive DFO study / CBC Listen
Travis Van Leeuwen, one of the authors of a new study on Newfoundland’s Conne River salmon decrease, says the magnitude of the decline is extremely concerning.
How to Use an Anvil (If You’re a Wrasse) / Hakai
Fish aren’t fools—they use tools.
Predators take big bite out of declining Atlantic Mackerel population / DFO
Predators ate at least twice as many Atlantic mackerel as commercial fishery landings in the decade leading up to Canada’s region-wide moratorium, according to new research by Canadian and American scientists. The finding that natural mortality outweighs fishing underscores the challenge of rebuilding a declining stock through government management measures like reduced quotas.
If Animals Are Conscious, What about Us? / Tyee
Emerging scientific research shows they’re self-aware. This could disrupt the Great Chain of Being for the greater good.
This 8-foot-long ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thought / National Geographic
For years, paleontologists thought this ancient salmon was like a saber-toothed cat, but now facial reconstruction offers a brand new look.
Effort underway to eradicate invasive smallmouth bass from Echo Lake / Campbell River Mirror
Invasive species introduced illegally into Echo Lake threaten native salmon and trout populations.
Canned tuna myths exposed by Fish Experts / Mashed
Concerns over the mercury content in fish have been swirling for a long time, with some types like swordfish being notoriously high in mercury. Exposure to mercury comes with serious consequences, and while there are rumors that canned tuna can be high in mercury, the experts we reached out to say that’s just not the case.
Reproductive success improves after a single generation in the wild for descendants of some hatchery chinook salmon / Phys.org
Researchers who created “family trees” for nearly 10,000 fish have found that first-generation, wild-born descendants of hatchery-origin chinook salmon in an Oregon river show improved fitness.
Habitat:
Peeking into the Ocean’s Microscopic Baby Boom / Hakai
Springtime delivers the world’s tiniest zoo babies.
Zebra mussels may prompt closure of national park lake, Manitoba government says / Manitoba News
The Manitoba government says Parks Canada is considering closing a popular lake to boating this year because of zebra mussels. Jamie Moses, the province’s natural resources minister, says the potential closure of Clear Lake, in Riding Mountain National Park, would harm tourism, the economy and area residents.
New ballast water findings lead to new questions on the Great Lakes / Great Lakes Commission
Scientists have been trying to figure out a good way to treat ballast water from lakers, which are ships that travel only within the Great Lakes. But new research shows things might be a little trickier than scientists thought. It’s estimated that nearly two-thirds of aquatic invasive species currently in the Great Lakes hitched a ride in the ballast water of cargo ships crossing the ocean. However, the same isn’t true of lakers, or ships that move exclusively within the Great Lakes. While the ballast water of these ships isn’t introducing new species, there’s a good chance it’s spreading invasive species throughout the lakes.
A Tale of Three Lakes / Research Project on harmful algal blooms / Ohio Sea Grant
In the first highly integrated experimental study of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms across diverse Great Lakes environments, researchers are examining three of the Great Lakes to determine how different nutrients and temperature influence bloom growth and resulting toxins. The results are illuminating the similarities and differences in how blooms start, persist, and produce toxins.
A habitat lifeline for juvenile salmon in the Fraser River / Pacific Salmon Foundation
Sturgeon Bank — a stretch of the Fraser River delta located off the west coast of Richmond, British Columbia — has lost at least 160 hectares of tidal marsh habitat over the last three decades due to dredging, dikes, and other human interventions.
Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2 / Yale Environment 360
Researchers and a handful of startups are trying to coax the ocean to soak up more of our carbon emissions. For billions of years, the seas have been absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. To boost that drawdown, companies are now altering the chemistry of the ocean or sinking biomass to the seafloor. Little is known about how effective their techniques will be — or about the possible unintended consequences.
In Lake Erie, Climate Change Scrambles Zooplankton’s Seasonal Presence / Ohio State University
A new analysis of zooplankton shows that their biomass and seasonal behavioral patterns have been drastically altered by human-driven changes in water temperature and food webs.
Spring Into Action – Game Edition! / Invasive Species Centre
As we start to spend more time outdoors, learn what you can do to prevent invasive species. Follow the link to see a typical camping day on the lake. Hidden in plain sight are some typical Pathways of the Spread for invasive species – when you find one, click to learn more.
Indigenous:
The Indigenous-led plan to protect a vast swath of northern Ontario / Narwhal
Omushkego leaders in the James Bay region of eastern Canada are cautiously optimistic about working with the federal government to create an Indigenous-led conservation area five times the size of Nova Scotia. It encompasses a rare peatland ecosystem that the Omushkego call the “Breathing Lands,” along with large marine buffers in James and Hudson Bays. Highlights
Landmark deal recognizes Haida Nation’s title over Haida Gwaii / CBC
The B.C. government and the Council of the Haida Nation have signed an agreement officially recognizing Haida Gwaii’s Aboriginal title, more than two decades after the nation launched a legal action seeking formal recognition.
Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation creates first ‘blue park’ in Canada / Narwhal
A marine protected area managed by Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation has been designated a ‘blue park’ — an internationally recognized example of excellence in marine protection. And it is the first Indigenous-led blue park in the world. The 33.5-square-kilometre Gitdisdzu Lugyeks Marine Protected Area on the central coast of British Columbia encompasses Kitasu Bay, an area rich with herring, shorebirds, whales, sea lions and juvenile fish. The nation unilaterally declared a protected area in 2022, and began pursuing qualifications for blue park status shortly after.
Inside the Generational Fight for Indigenous Fishing Rights in Yuquot Bay / Tyee
‘It wasn’t just their livelihood that was taken, but their identities as fishermen.’ “In more recent years, efforts and progress have been made towards rebuilding a nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations, including the Mowachaht community, based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership,” according to a statement from DFO. It goes on to say, “today, DFO works closely with the community through collaborative programs, such as the Aboriginal Fisheries Program (AFS), consultation, bilateral meetings, and other means, to collaboratively manage fisheries and protect fish and fish habitat.”
Podcasts:
‘When you catch your first fish, the fish catches you’ Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard on fly fishing, salmon & saving the planet / The Last Salmon:
Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, wanted to live life and do things his own way. In his 80s now and having given Patagonia away to help save the planet, Yvon is more likely to be found near a river bank fly fishing and he joins us to talk about his love of the sport and what anglers need to do help the plight of the salmon and of the planet.
E443 Technology and Commercial Fishing with Dr. Ussif Sumaila / The Blue Fish Radio Show
Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila from the University of British Columbia is widely known and highly regarded as an expert on the ability of off-shore commercial fisheries to fish sustainably. His opinions are shaping Canada’s entry into a new WTO agreement on the World’s first international sustainability Treaty. Listen as Dr. Sumaila speaks with Lawrence about the role technology is having on increasing fishing pressure around the world on The Blue Fish Radio Show.
Videos:
How this fish ‘slide’ helps keep invasive species out of critical habitats / Hamilton
Hundreds of fish are sorted through daily at Cootes Paradise Fishway. Large cranes and baskets used to protect native species and their wetlands.
Coming Up:
2024 Great Lakes Fishery Commission Annual Meeting Notice / GLFC
On June 4-6 2024 the GLFC will be holding their annual meeting in-person at The Westin Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. Schedule and accommodations details now available.
June 21-23Atlantic Women on the Fly 4th annual Women’s Fly Fishing Workshop on the St. Mary’s River
Workshops bring in approximately 40-50 women anglers, with over half being new anglers. Participants cover topics such as fish handling, casting and spey casting, hatches and flies, tying, river etiquette, reading the water, and more.” To register, email: awotfcanada@gmail.com
Special Guest Feature – Fisheries Management Zone 18 new seasonal sanctuaries
Ontario Fishing Regulations
Zone 18 is located in southern Ontario and covers Ottawa, Perth, Cornwall, Kingston and Belleville. Zone-wide seasons and limits apply to all waters in the Zone except for the specific waters and species listed in the species exceptions and fish sanctuaries. Fish sanctuaries usually represent year-round fishing embargoes, but new sanctuaries have now been listed that represent seasonal closures that conform with the spawning seasons of popular fishes. Such temporary restrictions are meant to provide spawning fish with the opportunity to complete their spawning activity without being caught incidentally by anglers pursuing other species of fish that can be legally caught during the time of year when other fishes can not. It’s been scientifically proven that by preventing the incidental capture and release of fishes during their spawning cycles will improve the quality of fishing throughout the water body by ensuring a significantly higher likelihood of spawning success.
The scientific results generated by multi-year field research has now convinced the Zone 18 advisory committee and the Ontario Government to introduce seasonal sanctuaries on a number of lakes throughout Zone 18. Blue Fish Canada will continue to monitor the results of this new conservation measure.
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