The Fishing Industry in Canada
Fishing in Canada pg. 247-260
Renewable Resource: a resource that replaces itself, ensuring a nearly limitless supply
Fishing: takes up only .15% of the total value of Canada’s economy yet is still a foundation of the Atlantic, Pacific, and some inland areas of Canada’s economy
Renewable Resource: a resource that replaces itself, ensuring a nearly limitless supply
Fishing: takes up only .15% of the total value of Canada’s economy yet is still a foundation of the Atlantic, Pacific, and some inland areas of Canada’s economy
- Commercial fishing takes place in 3 areas; East Coast, West Coast, and freshwater inland lakes
- Ground fish: bottom feeder fishes (cod and sole)
- Pelagic Fish: open water feeder fishes (salmon and tuna)
- Shellfish: molluscs and crustaceans (oysters, shrimps, and lobsters)
- Balance of Trade: difference between value of exports and value of imports
- Continental shelf: an area of the Atlantic ocean that is less than 200 meters deep because of raised land
- Fishing Banks: area on the continental shelf that is even shallower (less than 150 meters deep)
- These areas are shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate to the bottom, which stimulates the growth of plankton
- Plankton: microscopic plants and animal eaten by small fish and shellfish
- The meeting of the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream on the Grand Bank (huge fishing region) churns up nutrients that are necessary for the growth of plankton
- Inshore Fishery: commercial fishing that takes place within a few kilometers of the shoreline. Small fishing boats go out to sea and return to shore each day
- Offshore Fishery: ocean fishery done by boats longer than 25 meters. The boats stay at sea several days before returning to shore with their catch
- Even though fish are a renewable resource, like other renewable resources they must be managed properly
- Sustained Yield Management: use of renewable resources at a rate that allows the resource to renew itself
- If # caught is less than or equal to the # who mature each year, then fishing can go on forever (what happens if the number is greater than?)
- Overfishing: amount the government allowed to be caught each year was too high (sustained yield management was not working)
- Improved Fishing Technology: post WWII larger, more powerful trawlers were developed, as well as sonar and satellite navigation systems, which made fewer fish escape and survive each year
- Uncontrolled Foreign Fishing: until 1977, Canadian government had limited control of how much other countries were fishing in the East Coast, and countries such as Russia and Japan were not following the sustained yield management plan
- Destructive Fishing Practices: when fish other than the desired fish were caught (planning to catch cod, yet also catching sole), the unwanted, dead fish were merely tossed overboard, and not reported to authorities as having been caught
- Changes in Natural Conditions: two specific changes may have contributed
- Water temperatures have dropped and ocean salinity levels have changed
- Decline of the sealing industry caused an increase in the seal population, thus there were more seals to eat the smaller fish, which the desired fish (cod etc.) fed upon
What Happened to the Grand Banks Cod?
Fishing Continued...
The West Coast Fishery: most important catch is salmon (coho, pink, spring or chinok, chum, and sockeye), but also harvests herring, halibut, cod, crab, tuna, shrimp, and oysters
- There are 3 differing groups of people who fish for salmon along the West Coast; commercial fishers, sport fishers, and First Nations people
- The First Nations people are harvesting more salmon now, for two specific reasons:
- A Supreme Court decision in 1990 guaranteed the right of the First Nations to fish for their own food, and declared that this use takes precedence over all other considerations except conservation of the fish species
- The right to fish commercially is a focus of many First Nations land claims in B.C.
- Sport fishing wants to harvest more fish because a salmon caught by a recreational angler yields a much greater economic benefit than a salmon caught by a commercial-fishing boat
- If sport fishing and First Nations folk are to gain greater shares of the fish, and the government needs to ensure the survival and success of the salmon population, then commercial fishers will be required to reduce their catch
- Aquaculture: production of fish and other marine products on fish farms
- This has made it very difficult for people who fish for wild salmon to make enough money to stay in business, since farm-raised salmon can be sold for cheaper
- Overfishing: in the 1990’s, over 800 000 tonnes of fish per year were being caught, which the salmon stock could not survive
- There used to be over 100 major fish processing plants in B.C., now there are fewer than 10
- Changes in the Environment: global warming appears to be increasing the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, which could threaten the salmon’s habitat
- Salmon prefer water below 7 degrees Celsius
- If the Pacific Ocean slowly warms, the southern limit of the salmon’s range will continue to move northward to cooler waters
- Lack of Salmon Fishing Treaty: Canada believes the harvesting of coho salmon should be limited to preserve the stock, but Alaska claims there is enough salmon and restrictions are not needed
- Major species sent to market from freshwater fisheries are whitefish, perch, pickerel, and trout
- Money comes from the fisherman’s need of boats, fishing equipment, accommodations, meals fishing guides, and licences