Fishery recommendations made by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) have Atlantic Canada fishermen angry and confused. Complaints are being heard from Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, to Grand Manan, New Brunswick.
Along with general worries about the implications of recommendations made under the newly enacted Species at Risk Act are specific concerns about cusk, which show up as bycatches off Grand Manan, and cod off the eastern and southern Newfoundland coast.
It should be noted, however, that COSEWIC has only advisory status; any decision must be made by the federal cabinet.
According to Jeff Hutchings, biology professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the cusk and cod in the two areas have both been assessed as “threatened.”
Under the Species at Risk Act, “threatened” is defined as “a species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.” Other categories are extinct, extirpated, endangered, special concern, data deficient, and not at risk.
In a letter sent on Oct. 29 to federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Geoff Regan and Environment Minister Stephan Dion, Brian Guptill, president of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association (GMFA), said in part, “On behalf of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association, I would like to express our grave concern regarding the proposed listing of cusk, Atlantic cod, and harbor porpoise under the Species at Risk Act.”
Guptill continued, “We also have concerns regarding the process of the Act; namely, the lack of definition of the process to de-list a species if the population rebounds.”
Guptill went on to cod and cusk: “A prohibition on taking, harming, or killing either of this species would decimate the island of Grand Manan,” he said. “The potential of bycatch of these species exists in any fishing operation and a complete prohibition would close all lobster, groundfish, and herring fisheries. A provision for allowable harm offers little comfort with our limited knowledge of the process to obtain these permits and their potential cancellation if there is a downturn in the population of the species. If these species are to be listed, provision needs to be made to ensure that existing fisheries are not impacted. Our island population is dependent on the fishery and anything that would detrimentally impact it will have far-reaching ramifications throughout Grand Manan and other coastal communities.”
Melanie Sonnenberg of the Grand Manan Fisherman’s Association added, “As far as I’m concerned, fish species should simply be taken off the table. How they decided to arrive at these species isn’t clear to us. The process was complicated and certainly not transparent.”
Hutchings said that committee on endangered wildlife will hold further hearings and added, “All stakeholders in any fishery will have the opportunity to participate in a long-range plan. And what our data show is that there has to be a long-range plan.”
In Newfoundland, Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers, noted that hundreds of fishermen had attended meetings about the designation and said, “This is just about the most insane suggestion I’ve heard in my life. This decision has been made using criteria that are used for exotic mammals. Bear in mind, too, that COSEWIC has no science division, only some people with an agenda of their own.”
He added, “When you realize that the spawning biomass in [eastern and southern Newfoundland] is the highest it’s been since 1977, this is simply foolish talk. We’re talking about several hundred million fish. And when you realize that these same people declared some years back that the cod fishery was in fine shape when fishermen were saying there was a serious problem, you’d think they’d have a little humility. But they have only contempt for fishermen.”
What’s the message for the federal Cabinet? Echoing testimony from the hearings McCurdy says, “Don’t even think about it — the only endangered species here are the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who fish for a living.”