Question Period Note: Oceana 2022 Fishery Audit

The annual audit assesses the health of fish stocks and the management of fisheries.

• We welcome Oceana Canada’s fisheries audit and are reviewing the report’s recommendations.
• The Government of Canada is committed to a precautionary and sustainable approach to fish harvesting that protects our precious marine ecosystems.
• The Government of Canada has made several key investments that are already showing progress towards sustainable fisheries and strengthening our oceans protections.
• The Department is continuing its work on management of Canada’s fisheries and to complete rebuilding plans for key stocks.
• For the remaining priority stocks without rebuilding plans, DFO has specific fishery management measures in place, based on the best available science. These measures will ensure that the limited fishing of the stocks does not compromise their rebuilding.

• Oceana Canada issued its 2022 Fishery Audit (and sixth annual audit) on November 22, 2022.
• The audit assesses the health of fish stocks and the management of fisheries based on three criteria: science information available, monitoring of fish stocks and management measures.
• In it, they conclude that fewer Canadian marine stocks (194 stocks in their index) can be considered healthy compared to six years ago, and that less than a third (30.4 per cent) can be “confidently considered healthy”.
• They also highlight that 17 per cent of stocks are in the critical zone, which is the same figure as last year, but a slight decrease compared to 18.5 per cent in 2020.
• The health of 37 per cent of stocks cannot be determined due to lack of information (ie they have uncertain status).
• Since 2018, DFO has completed rebuilding plans for seven of 19 priority stocks on its Sustainable Fisheries Framework work plan, and a further two have improved to the point where they are no longer in the critical zone.
• Oceana Canada continues to push for accelerated implementation of the 2019 Fishery Monitoring Policy, calling for stock prioritization for stocks thought to have concerns around data quality and performance measurements to evaluate progress in achieving the policy objectives.

If pressed on stock status
• The Oceana report includes 194 stocks (33 in the critical zone) while DFO’s latest annual (2020) Sustainability Survey for Fisheries included only 180 stocks (23 in the critical zone).
• DFO used many criteria to determine key stocks for inclusion in its annual survey, including economic importance, the species ecosystem role, cultural importance, stocks subject to international agreements, and depleted stocks that were part of a significant commercial fishery.

If pressed on rebuilding plans
• On April 4, 2022, the Fish Stocks provisions in the Fisheries Act came into effect for 30 major fish stocks.
• The provisions, which apply to stocks prescribed by regulation, introduce binding obligations to maintain major stocks at levels necessary to promote their sustainability and to develop and implement rebuilding plans for depleted major fish stocks and sets out the required contents and timeline to develop rebuilding plans.
• DFO has started to develop rebuilding plans for five additional fish stocks that have declined.