Oceans in ‘11

Is Canada Doing Enough to Defend its Oceans?

NewsStephen Cutler — Published November 8, 2011

We may take pride in the landscape that surrounds us, but Canadian waters may conceal some unpleasant truths.

Jeffrey Hutchings, a marine biologist with a plan, stood as a vivid reminder of the poor state of Canada’s oceans when he spoke Loyola’s Oscar Peterson Hall on Nov. 3.

As Hutchings puts it, the problems with Canada’s oceans are many: declining levels of oxygen at great depths, fluctuating levels of plankton (necessary bottom-of-the-food-chain ocean chow), and depleting fish stocks, to name a few. He chalks all of these problems up to two umbrella causes: climate change and exploitative harvesting.

These issues have taken quite the toll on Canada’s marine biodiversity as one fifth of the 635 ‘species at risk’ in Canada live in the oceans, according to the Committee on the Status of Endangere Wildlife in Canada.

But what can be done to improve the oceans? One option is to support companies that have sustainable fishing policies, says Hutchings. Loblaws, for example, has stated that by 2013 every product they sell that contains fish, in any form, will have been caught in a sustainable fashion.

However, the sustainable option may not always be the accessible one. “If I’m going to buy fish at the supermarket, there’s a good chance I’m going for one of the cheaper fish,” admitted Ariella, a Concordia biology student. “I know you shouldn’t, but everybody’s [financially] limited, especially as a student.”

Hutchings’ final word was on policy and awareness. He believes that the solution to our problems lies in prescriptive governmental policy, similar to that in place in the U.S. “We’ve got some good policies, the trouble is we’re not implementing them. […] If Canadians aren’t interested, politicians aren’t interested.”