Toward an Ecosystem Approach to Bottom Trawling in Canada

DRAGGING OUR ASSETS293. The resultant ecosystem impacts, whether trophic or habitat, can be managedsustainably provided that the extent of the fishing practice is carried out at a scalethat does not adversely impact larger-scale ecosystem processes.The overarching approach of “sustainable use” guiding Canada’s policy on bottomtrawling and other benthic fishing-gear impacts is fundamentally different from approachesfound in several other jurisdictions (e.g., U.S., N.Z., Australia, E.U.) and is inconsistentwith the overarching conservation principle stated in the UN Convention on BiologicalDiversity. 60 The Convention states that the “fundamental requirement for the conservationof ecosystems and natural habitats is the in-situ conservation of ecosystems and naturalhabitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their naturalsurroundings”. The proposed Canadian approach of “sustainable use” (i.e., intentionalhabitat perturbation) is non-precautionary, is not ecosystem-based, and undermines thespirit and intent of the Convention on Biological Diversity.It is well recognized through hundreds of scientific publications and reviews that bottomtrawling can fundamentally change the benthic ecosystem structure (see Section B above).A precautionary guiding principle for Canada should be one that reduces and limits theimpacts of bottom trawling on “natural habitats” and restores degraded habitats.Furthermore, the fundamental assumption with a “sustainable use” approach is thatscientific understanding of marine ecosystems and fish population dynamics is robustenough to determine a sustainable level of purposeful habitat perturbation.T o b a c c o C o n t r o lC o m p a r e d t oM a n a g i n g B o t t o mT r a w l I m p a c t sThe Canadian government,through the FederalTobacco Control Strategy,has recognized the weightof scientific evidencesurrounding the health risksposed by smoking. This hasled to specific objectivesto reduce the impacts ofsmoking on the healthof Canadians. 61 HealthCanada is not promoting“sustainable” smokingby trying to determinea level of smoking (e.g.,8.76 cigarettes a day)where the risks of smokingbecome equal to other liferisks posed by accidentsand disease, nor are theyencouraging youth to takeup smoking at a moderatelevel (cf. mobile benthicfishing gears in frontierareas). Instead, there isgeneral recognition thatgovernment policy shouldreduce the health impactsfrom smoking throughfour mutually reinforcingcomponents: protection,prevention, cessation, andharm reduction.