Seafood & Oceans Campaigns

Marine Use Planning by Great Bear Rainforest

The ocean adjacent to the Great Bear Rainforest is home to a plethora of marine life, including threatened species like the blue-footed Cassin’s Auklet, one of BC’s rarely seen seabirds. Sierra Club BC is a key voice promoting a marine use planning table for the Pacific North Coast. We are also urging creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas for this region. Our long-standing concern for ocean health and wildlife abundance is finding new relevance as we strive to ensure that marine species that could be affected by global warming have the best chance possible to adapt to a changing marine environment.

Tiger Rockfish

Marine Protected Areas

(MPAs) are areas of zoned usage, and include parts of the ocean that are protected from fishing and other impacts in order to conserve fully functional ecosystems, unique oceanic areas or features, or to allow significantly reduced populations of fish and other marine species to recover. Different kinds of MPAs offer differing levels of protection, ranging from areas in which only the seabed is conserved to comprehensive “no-take” zones, also known as marine reserves. Marine reserves protect marine life, including fish, as well as habitat required for future generations to thrive. They are essential to any effective conservation strategy, and assist in the maintenance of sustainable fisheries.

Federal Oceans Strategy

Sierra Club BC urges the federal government to fund and implement Canada’s Oceans Strategy, which would make Canada a world leader in ocean conservation. The Oceans Strategy was developed in 2002 as mandated by Canada’s Oceans Act (1997). It sketches out a strategic path for achieving federal mandates and Canada’s international commitments for marine conservation, through an ecosystem-based management approach. Section 35(2) of the Oceans Act directs the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to "lead and coordinate the establishment of a national system of marine protected areas on behalf of the government of Canada".

Lingcod

In 2005, the federal government allocated $28 million for the first phase of the Oceans Action Plan. Since then, Canada has not ratified any comprehensive marine-use plans or established any new marine protected areas.  Sierra Club BC and other conservation groups hoped that the 2007 federal budget would include several hundred million dollars for Phase Two of the Oceans Action Plan. That funding would have enabled a comprehensive planning process, the designation of many new marine protected areas, vital scientific research and reforms necessary for a conservation-based approach to oceans management.

Sadly, the federal government has set aside less than $19 million so far for ocean conservation efforts—far less than what is needed to protect and adequately manage sensitive and important marine areas. Sierra Club BC calls on the federal government to advocate an additional $100 million annually for five years in order to fulfil critical commitments made in the Oceans Strategy.

Sustainable Fisheries

Sierra Club BC is a founding member of Sustainable Seafood Canada, a coalition of leading Canadian environmental organizations. We work together under the SeaChoice brand to raise public awareness of the threats to oceans and develop solutions for sustainable fisheries. SeaChoice focuses on domestic seafood consumption and works with stakeholders in the seafood supply line to bring about measurable shifts toward sustainable practices in seafood supply and marketing.

“Canada’s Seafood Guide” is a wallet-sized card, published by SeaChoice, that helps consumers and retailers identify the best seafood choices and find information about fisheries supported through purchases. The card lists 62 types of seafood under three different alert codes: Green (Best Choice), Yellow (Some Concerns) and Red (Avoid). The SeaChoice card also comes with a health advisory—some seafood choices are accompanied by symbols for mercury, PCBs, dioxins and pesticides. More detailed information is available on the searchable seafood database on the SeaChoice website.

The Seafood Card is readily downloadable to your iPod or iPhone from iTunes (type in 'SeaChoice').

An equally useful Sustainable Sushi Guide was published in 2009 to enable consumers to easily make wiser choices while enjoying delicious seafood.