Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales in Canada

The final amended version of the Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales in Canada has been published on the SAR Public Registry .

The amendment to this Recovery Strategy includes identification of two additional areas as critical habitat and provides additional clarification of the functions, features, and attributes for all critical habitat identified for Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (NRKW and SRKW).


Under SARA, critical habitat must be legally protected within 180 days of being identified in a final recovery strategy or action plan and included in the Species at Risk Public Registry. The identified critical habitat in recovery strategy will prohibit the “destruction of any part of the identified critical habitat”. Activities “likely to result in the description of critical habitat” include "fishing for Chinook Salmon, Chum Salmon, and other important prey species, as well as activities that impact the survival and prey supply of these species such that they are not of sufficient abundance, quality, or availability for Resident Killer Whales”.


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New Management Plan for Gwaii Haanas

The management plan for Gwaii Haanas has been published.

The Gwaii Haanas Archipelago Management Board (AMB) accepted most of the plan submitted by the fishing industry, which met or exceeded all of the cultural and ecological targets while reducing the impact on the fisheries operating in the area. That being said there was an annual loss of about $8 million in landed value from fisheries, which were impacted, and unfortunately for the tuna, fishing areas off the coast were closed to access.

Find the full management plan here:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/gwaiihaanas/info/consultations

Map of the management area:

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Annual Herring Sale for Kids with Cancer this Saturday December 1!

The annual herring sale for kids with cancer has been held annually since 2011 with 100% of the profits going to kids being treated for cancer at the BC Children’s Hospital.

Over the years the event has raised over $550,000 for the cause. Last year 35 ipads were bought to be distributed to each child for the duration of their stay on the oncology floor of the BC Children’s Hospital. A video game library and X-box switches have also been bought as well as vitamix blenders and smoothie mix to help with sick children’s diet.

If you want to purchase fresh fish for an excellent cause check out the events in Victoria and Richmond:

Fishermen Helping Kids With Cancer

Victoria, BC
Date: December 1, 2018
Time: 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Where: FAS Seafoods
Address: 27 Erie Street

Richmond, BC
Date: December 1, 2018
Time: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Where: Steveston Harbour Authority
Address: 12740 Trites Road

http://www.fhkwc.ca

Link to articles:

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Outlook to 2027 for Canadian Fish and Seafood

Outlook to 2027 for Canadian Fish and Seafood has been published.

Excerpts about tuna:

  • Price predictions for tuna are expected to increase towards recent highs, in the absence of significant aquaculture capacity to enhance supply.

  • Canada produces little tuna, but imports significant amounts. Increasing prices will lead to a greater trade deficit for tuna.

Projections (summarized by the FCC):

  •       Global consumption of seafood products will grow approximately 9% by 2027, driven in large part by continued population growth and rising income in certain parts of the world. 

  • Supply increases are expected to be more limited as the rate of growth in aquaculture slows leading to high prices for fish and seafood over the medium-term, despite the relaxation of prices in other agri-food markets where supply is more robust. 

  • Canada’s seafood export value is driven more by prices than by volume, and the particularly high prices for lobster and crab seen in recent years are expected to continue. 

  • Exports will ultimately vary around a higher plateau (approximately $8B) in the coming decade compared to the previous plateau of $4B from 2000 to 2010. 

  • Lobster’s share of Canada’s seafood export value is projected to increase from about 30% to 40% as Canada solidifies its position as the single largest net exporter of lobster

  • Import demand in several of Canada’s main historical trade partners (EU, U.S., Japan) and domestic demand is expected to remain stable, while export opportunities will grow in China, South Korea, and countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and to some degree Mercosur countries, particularly Brazil. 

  • Non-tariff barriers, particularly the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) will continue to pose challenges for Canadian fisheries (wild capture and aquaculture). Over the next years non-tariff barriers affecting fisheries will typically be driven by conservation, ecosystem protection, and “social concerns”.

Link: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ea-ae/economic-analysis/outlook-to-2027-perspectives-jusqu-en-2027-eng.html

TAB Election Results

The election process is now complete for the TAB terms starting January 1, 2019. Voting was not necessary because only one nomination was received for each open seat (i.e. all the individuals nominated automatically won their seats).

 The results are that J. Jenkins, P. DeGreef, G. Brooks will continue to 2022; Pat Cullen and Korey Sundstrum will end their terms on Dec 31; Tom Hearty and Tad Larden will begin on Jan 1.

The table below shows both current and newly elected TAB members.

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New DFO Arctic Region

  Minister Wilkinson announced the creation of a stand-along Arctic Region. A new DFO Regional Director General, Gabriel Nirlungayuk has been appointed for the area.

"The new Region exemplifies DFO’s and the Canadian Coast Guard’s commitment to advancing reconciliation and pursuing a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples, which is based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership. It will enable DFO and the Coast Guard to work more closely with Inuit and all Indigenous Leaders, Indigenous organizations, stakeholders and all residents of the Arctic on innovative approaches to program and service delivery.”

Find the full announcement here:

https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2018/10/fisheries-and-oceans-canada-the-canadian-coast-guard-and-inuit-tapiriit-kanatami-announce-new-arctic-region.html

StarKist admits fixing tuna prices, faces $100 million fine

  • StarKist has agreed to plead guilty to price fixing.

  • Federal prosecutors announced the plea agreement Thursday and said the company faces a fine up to $100 million.

Published 19 Hours Ago  Updated 11 Hours AgoThe Associated Press

Link to article: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/starkist-admits-fixing-tuna-prices-faces-100-million-fine.html

Danny Johnston | AP

Starkist Tuna products sit on a shelf in a Little Rock, Ark., food warehouse.

Authorities say StarKist has agreed to plead guilty to price fixing as part of a broad collusion investigation of the canned tuna industry.

Federal prosecutors announced the plea agreement Thursday and said the company faces a fine up to $100 million. Bumble Bee Foods last year pleaded guilty to the same charge and paid a $25 million fine.

Chicken of the Sea has not been charged because prosecutors say the company exposed the scheme and co-operated with the investigation.

Two former Bumble Bee executives and a former StarKist executive also each pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges.

Former Bumble Bee chief executive Christopher Lischewski has pleaded not guilty to a price fixing charge.

The three companies are accused of conspiring to keep canned tuna prices artificially high between 2010 and 2013.

'Son of the blob': Unseasonably warm weather creating new anomaly off B.C. coast

'It just begs the question of how much of this is linked to climate change'

Liam Britten · CBC News · Posted: Oct 18, 2018 4:00 AM PT | Last Updated: October 18

link to article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/blob-pacific-ocean-bc-1.4867674

The blob is back.

A meteorologist says unseasonable conditions in B.C. are likely once again causing a large area of the Pacific Ocean to heat up, emulating a phenomenon from past years called the "blob."

That mass of warm water was blamed for warmer weather on land, poor feeding conditions for salmon and even dead whales.

Now, Armel Castellan with Environment and Climate Change Canada says it appears a warm-water patch dubbed the "son of the blob" is establishing itself off B.C.'s coast.

"To see a blob sort of establish itself at this time of year is sort of surprising," Castellan said. "It's a symptom of the enduring or stagnant weather we've been having over the last four years."

Unusual, summer-like conditions in northern and central B.C. is being blamed for "concerning" droughts in vast swaths of the province. Castellan said this newest emergence of a blob in the Pacific Ocean is likely connected to the patterns causing these droughts.

Climate change connection

Castellan says that the conditions to form a blob occur when weather systems are largely stable and unchanging. A lack of wind and precipitation over the ocean means water does not mix very well, so water near the surface warms up, stays put and stays warm because it can't mix with deeper, cooler water.

The effects of the blob or the "son of the blob" aren't fully understood, he said, but other scientists have blamed it for numerous environmental irregularities.

There might be some relief on the horizon, however. Castellan said storms should begin as early as Tuesday of next week and cause the water to start mixing.

It's not clear, however, how long the storms will last or how great an impact they will make.

Castellan added that the warm patches of water are becoming "routine or fairly common."

"It's definitely something we're starting to see with these resilient ridges," he said. 

"It just begs the question of how much of this is linked to climate change."


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/blob-pacific-ocean-bc-1.4867674