Hake fishery not sustainable, groups warn U.K. council
By Larry Pynn, Vancouver SunJune 29, 2009
Attempts to achieve the first international certification of sustainability for a B.C. commercial fishery have hit a roadblock following the filing of an official objection with the U.K.-based Marine Stewardship Council.
Two U.S.-based groups, Oceana and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, argue in their objection that the hake fishery is not sustainable due to the incidental catch of rockfish and salmon, and concerns about overharvesting.
Pacific hake, or whiting, is considered a single stock ranging from B.C. to California.
The objection is mainly levelled at the U.S. for setting unrealistically high catch rates and for incidents of dumping of rockfish and salmon, including endangered and depleted Chinook salmon.
"Right now, the hake fishery is the antithesis of sustainable," Ben Enticknap, Pacific project manager for Oceana, an oceans advocacy group, said in an interview from Portland, Ore.
"The population's at an all-time low and it's continuing to decline, yet the managers aren't taking actions to reverse that decline. They are just pushing it further to the edge."
Enticknap noted Canadian scientists have expressed serious concerns about the catch levels set by U.S. managers.
A 2008 report by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the University of B.C. Fisheries Centre found "serious technical flaws" with the catch modelling and warned of "a high risk of causing serious harm to the hake stock."
The report noted the hake population is dominated by a single year-class now nine years old and that "the population biomass is declining and at its historic minimum, the exploitation rate is increasing and at its historic maximum, and there is no indication of good recruitment [addition of younger fish].
"Prudent management suggests catches should be reduced under these circumstances, not increased."
A 2009 groundfish management report used for setting catch limits also found "spawning stock biomass has been in decline since 2003, with estimated levels approaching all-time lows."
Gary Logan, groundfish resource manager for the federal fisheries department, said that in response to stock concerns, the fishing effort has been dramatically reduced. The total allowable catch is 184,000 tonnes in 2009 compared with 364,842 tonnes in 2008. Canada gets 26.12 per cent of the catch, the U.S. 73.88 per cent.
Shannon Mann, vice-president of the Association of Pacific Hake Fishermen, said from her Richmond office that the objection is a setback but not unexpected. She argued the industry is sustainable and the subject of careful monitoring and extensive research. "The fishery has been around since the early '70s and it's still here."
Enticknap said the council has gone back to Nova Scotia-based TAVEL Certification Inc., which headed the certification process. The hake fishery has until July 5 to submit its comments.
The quota fishery was to be declared sustainable this month in the absence of an objection. Certification by the council, an arms-length body, is viewed as an important economic tool because it assures continued access to foreign and domestic marketplaces.
B.C. salmon, sablefish (Alaska black cod), and dogfish are also undergoing a certification process.
Hake generates the largest commercial harvest of a single stock on the B.C. coast, with a landed value of $28 million last year. It is a lower-priced fish, caught by mid-water trawl boats, and exported largely to eastern Europe.
Forty to 60 commercial mid-water trawl boats typically participate in the fishery from May to October on La Perouse bank off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
lpynn@vancouversun.com© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
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