Canada - Reduce the Power of the Fisheries Minister
- by: Judith B.
- recipient: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Canada
Keith Ashfield, the Canadian fisheries minister, has the power to make key decisions. As marine life pays no attention to national boundaries, such decisions do not just impact Canada.
The problem is, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for both exploiting and conserving the country's fish stocks, and has a long record of ignoring the advice of marine scientists on what is sustainable and what is not.
Canada has already suffered the devastating consequences of overfishing. Special interest lobbyists always want to maximize exploitation, but it is impossible to magically increase the number of fish in the sea or the speed at which they reproduce.
Ask the Canadian government to overhaul its long outdated governance of fisheries, reducing the power of conflicted ministers and their departments and ensuring that long-term, scientifically based decisions are made.
We the undersigned ask that you make preserving and rebuilding fish stocks a priority and overhaul the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is currently acting against long-term, sustainable policies.
Overfishing is only beneficial very briefly, and then everybody employed in the industry suffers. It is in the interests of the fisheries industry as well as conservation that key decisions are based on scientific advice, not what is most politically or economically convenient in the short term.
Canada should become a leader in looking after the world's oceans, instead of lagging decades behind Australia, Europe and even the United States.
Thank you for your attention.
