Canadian Marine Fisheries Management : A Case Study

Abstract

This chapter describes major trends in Canada’s marine fi sheries and their management in recent years. In just 30 years from 1960 to 1990, these fi sheries went from underdevelopment to a situation of substantial overcapacity. Regulatory interventions mushroomed during the 1970s and 1980s. These included the introduction of seasonal total allowable catches (TACs), allocation of access among fl eet sectors, limited-entry licensing, and ultimately individual quotas (IQs), some transferable. Initially, major benefi ts appear to fl ow from Canada’s extension of fi sheries jurisdiction to 200 miles in 1977. These were dissipated by overexpansion in both the harvesting and processing sectors. The bubble of euphoria burst in July 1992 with the dramatic collapse of the Newfoundland and Labrador northern cod fi shery that had sustained Atlantic Canadian coastal communities for hundreds of years. Most Atlantic groundfi sh stocks were placed under moratoria by 1993–1994. Pacifi c salmon also underwent a dramatic downturn in the late 1990s. Draconian measures were implemented to address conservation concerns. In contrast, the major shellfi sh stocks on the Atlantic became extremely abundant. A decadeslong surge in Atlantic lobster landings continued, and there were major increases in the abundance of shrimp and snow crab. These fi sheries replaced groundfi sh in many areas of Atlantic Canada.