Fifty Organizations Make Recommendations To Strengthen The Fisheries Act

Fifty Organizations Make Recommendations To Strengthen The Fisheries Act

West Coast Environmental Law writes: 

"Staff Counsel Linda Nowlan is heading to Ottawa this month (April 2016) to meet with federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo, as more than 50 groups call on the government to “put the guts back” into the Fisheries Act." 

Read more here, from Water Canada: http://watercanada.net/2016/fisheries-act/…

‪#‎ActForFish‬ |‪#‎bowriver‬ | ‪#‎flyfishing‬ | ‪#‎yyc‬ | ‪#‎fisheries‬

Put Habitat Back in the Fisheries Act

Put Habitat Back in the Fisheries Act from SWCC on Vimeo.

Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition writes: 

"You just can't protect fish without protecting where they live...time to put Habitat back into the Fisheries Act. Take action here - http://fisheriesact.ca/ " 

In 2012, the Harper government changed our Fisheries Act, the oldest and most robust environmental laws in Canada, and took out most of the habitat protection provisions. Fish habitat destruction is the most common reason for species decline. It’s time to get habitat protection back in the Fisheries Act.
 
Visit  http://fisheriesact.ca/ for details

http://skeenawatershed.com/ | ‪#‎bowriver‬ | ‪#‎flyfishing‬ | ‪#‎yyc‬

Stop further gutting of the Fisheries Act!

Trout Unlimited Canada writes: "In case you don't know, the next step in "improving" the Federal Fisheries Act is to amend how the Federal government will now implement and develop regulations under the deleterious substance component of the Act.....more discretion, less science?

See what you think."

Learn more here:  http://bit.ly/1euoXhx

Changes to Fisheries Legislation Have Removed Habitat Protection for Most Fish Species in Canada

John Post, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Calgary, says the federal government’s changes to the fisheries legislation have eviscerated the ability to protect habitat for many of the country’s fish species.
Photograph by: Riley Brandt, University of Calgary, Calgary Herald

Trout Unlimited Canada writes: "John Post and Jeff Hutchings are two of Canada's highly respected fisheries scientists. The changes to fisheries legislation in Canada has increased the need for the work that Trout Unlimited Canada does and the need for your support. You can support our work on our website at www.tucanada.org"

Changes to Fisheries Legislation Have Removed Habitat Protection for Most Fish Species in Canada

Nov. 7, 2013 — Federal government changes to Canada's fisheries legislation have eviscerated the ability to protect habitat for most of the country's fish species, scientists at the universities of Calgary and Dalhousie say in a new study.

Read article here: http://bit.ly/17fqiow

I want strong laws for fish...

Bow River Shuttles writes:

In the Spring 2013 issue of 'Currents', Trout Unlimited Canada CEO Jeff Surtees writes about the challenges facing our fisheries that have resulted from the downsizing of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the changes to the Fisheries Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, and (soon to come) the Species at Risk Act.

Near the end of the article, he states: "If you want to learn more about the legislative changes that have take place over the past year, check out the excellent analyses done by West Coast environmental Law (wcel.org) and by Ecojustice (ecojustice.ca)."

WITH THAT IN MIND, HERE IS A POST TODAY (JUNE 18, 2013) FROM WEST COAST ENVIRONMENTAL LAW:

Tell the Prime Minister - Fish Need Protection

B.C.’s salmon guardian needs you to listen – before it’s too late

Ron MacLeod, former director-general of the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Department is photographed at his home White Rock, British Columbia, Saturday, December 1, 2012.

(Rafal Gerszak for The Globe and Mail)

FISHERIES

B.C.’s salmon guardian needs you to listen – before it’s too late

MARK HUME

Vancouver, The Globe and Mail, Dec 02 2012

He’s 88 and admits to failing health, but Ron MacLeod’s mind remains as sharp as a well-honed fish hook and his passion for protecting salmon is undiminished.

Proof of that lies in a brilliant paper he has just written with long-time colleague Al Wood that he hopes will stir a public outcry against government.

This is an old warrior who is squaring up for one last fight. And politicians will ignore him at their peril.

His paper, “Epic Fail,” chronicles the decline of Pacific salmon stocks and warns that a total collapse – on the scale of the Atlantic cod catastrophe – is in the making, unless things change.

Mr. MacLeod, a former director-general of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, goes beyond doom-saying. He lays out the history of failed government policies that have propelled us to this point, and offers solutions.

Read more here

"This short paper is well written, easy to read and will help us all to understand how "we" (Canada) got to where we are as to fish and fisheries." - Jim Wilson, The Pacific Streamkeepers Federation

Read "Epic Fail" here.

Fish can’t speak out, but you can! Save the Fisheries Act- it’s not too late!

Fish can’t speak out, but you can! Save the Fisheries Act- it’s not too late! 

The changes to the Fisheries Act and new regulations made under it, will have implications for the health of rivers and lakes across the Canada – not just for fish – but for all species, including us humans, who all depend on safe, healthy waters. Fish can’t speak out, but you can. 

Fishermen fishing for salmon in the Humber river, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

© Noah Cole, WWF-Canada

Posted by Tony Maas, World Wildlife Fund,  December 13, 2012

While the news this week that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has no formal plans to consult the public or stakeholders on still-pending changes to the Fisheries Act included in Bill C-38 back in June is not surprising, it is troubling.

On June 27, 2012, in the wake of Bill C-38, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Keith Ashfield announced a “nationwide public engagement and consultations process to be held throughout the summer and fall to develop the policy and regulatory framework that will support changes to the Fisheries Act adopted by the House of Commons earlier this month.” Background documents supporting this announcement state: “Through Summer and Fall 2012, the Department will engage Canadians, through a series of roundtables and meetings, and online, to get their feedback on various elements of the Government of Canada’s fisheries protection approach.”

These announcements signal that there may still be an opportunity for people and organizations like WWF to influence the governments’ new approach to fisheries management, and to appeal to the Minister and the Department through a formal process to maintain the important protections for fish habitat – not just fisheries – that have not yet been removed from the Fisheries Act(but remain on the chopping block). But it seems now that the department is backing away from this commitment to consult or is being quite selective and surgical, far from transparent with respect to who they consult and how.

The changes to the Fisheries Act and new regulations made under it, will have implications for the health of rivers and lakes across the Canada – not just for fish – but for all species, including us humans, who all depend on safe, healthy waters.

Please take a moment to call or email the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to share your concerns on this issue and to ask if the government plans to make good on their commitment to engage Canadians on protecting our fisheries and the waters that sustain them.