With Wyss Foundation Support, Oceana’s Advocacy Helps Canada Rebuild Marine Abundance

Sustainably managing and restoring natural resources – alongside establishment of new protected areas – is critical to safeguarding the world’s biodiversity. One example of this important work is Oceana Canada’s successful advocacy effort that is helping Canada rebuild its once plentiful fisheries.

To that end, Oceana Canada led a successful effort to reform and modernize Canada’s fisheries management law. On June 21, 2019, after years of work from Oceana and a coalition of partners,  a new and modernized Fisheries Act became law. Now, for the first time, Canada requires the creation and implementation of legally enforceable plans to restore depleted fish populations. As the new Fisheries Act is implemented, the resulting increase in fish abundance will have important spillover effects that benefit marine mammals, preserve corals and other marine biodiversity, and help to restore commercial and recreational fisheries. The new law also strengthens Indigenous leadership in fisheries management, with expanded roles in project reviews, monitoring, and policy development. Together, these changes help to position Canada as one of the world’s leaders in science-based fisheries management, putting it on a path to sustainable food production and the restoration of marine abundance.

Why was it necessary to restore ocean abundance in Canada? Oceana Canada’s five-year review of the state of Canadian Fisheries in its 2021 Fisheries Audit found that nearly one in five Canadian fish populations are critically depleted; and 80% lacked plans to help bring fisheries back to healthy levels. Once amongst the world’s most important and largest sources of fish, Canada’s fisheries and the communities that depend on them were in steady decline.

After three years of work that the Wyss Foundation supported, on April 14, 2022, Canada finalized new regulations implementing the Fisheries Act which outline the elements required to rebuild healthy fish populations. With the Fisheries Act reform and the regulations to support it, alongside Canada’s commitments to protect 30% of its oceans, Canada now has the legal tools and high-level leadership it needs to rebuild its fish populations to support sustainable and prosperous fisheries, healthy coastal communities, and a more resilient, bountiful ocean.