Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in Canada was created by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Act on April 2, 1979. This act formed a separate government department from the Fisheries and Marine Service of the former Department of Fisheries and the Environment. The new department was needed, in part, because of increased interest in the management of Canada's oceanic resources, and also because of the mandate resulting from the unilateral declaration of the 200-nautical-mi Exclusive Economic Zones in 1977.

At its inception, the DFO assumed responsibility for seacoast and inland fisheries, fishing and recreational vessel harbors, hydrography and ocean science, and the coordination of policy and programs for Canada's oceans. Four main organizational units were created: Atlantic Fisheries, Pacific and Freshwater Fisheries, Economic Development and Marketing, and Ocean and Aquatic Science. Among the activities included in the department's original mandate were: comprehensive husbandry of fish stocks and protection of habitat ; "best use" of fish stocks for optimal socioeconomic benefits; adequate hydrographic surveys; the acquisition of sufficient knowledge for defense, transportation , energy development and fisheries, with provision of such information to users; and continued development and maintenance of a national system of harbors.

Since its inception, the department's mandate has changed in minor ways, to include new terminology such as "sustainability" and to include Canada's "ecological interests." Recently, attention has been given to support those who make their living or benefit from the sea. This constituency includes the public first, but the DFO also directs its efforts toward commercial fishers, fish plant workers, importers, aquaculturists, recreational fishers, native fishers, and the ocean manufacturing and service sectors. There are now six DFO divisions: Science, Atlantic Fisheries, Pacific Fisheries, Inspection Services, International, and Corporate Policy and Support administered through six regional offices.

A primary focus of DFO's current work is the failing cod and groundfish stocks in the Atlantic; the department has commissioned two major inquiries in recent years to investigate those problems. In addition, the DFO has increased regulation of foreign fleets, and works to manage straddling stocks in the Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone through the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization, the Pacific drift nets fisheries, recreational fishing and aquaculture development. In 1992, management problems in the major fisheries arose on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. American fisheries managers reneged on quotas established through the Pacific Salmon Treaty, northern cod stocks in Newfoundland virtually failed, and the Aboriginal Fishing Strategy was adopted as part of a land claim settlement on the Pacific coast.

There are several major problems associated with ocean resource and environment management in Canada—problems that the DFO has neither the resources, the legislative infrastructure, nor the political will to address. One result of this has been the steady decline of commercial fish stocks, highlighted by the virtual collapse of Atlantic cod (Gadus callarias ), which is Canada's, and perhaps, the Atlantic's most historically significant fishery. A second result has been an increased need to secure international agreements with Canada's ocean neighbors. A third result of social significance is the perception that fisheries have been used in a political sense in cases of regional economic incentives and land claims settlements.

See also Commercial fishing; Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Canada

[David A. Duffus ]