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UN Begins Debate on Bottom-Trawling Fishing; Canada Opposes Moratorium

Posted on: Friday, 17 November 2006, 18:00 CST

By NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD

UNITED NATIONS (CP) - A proposal for a global ban on a controversial fishing method known as bottom trawling on the high seas entered its final days of debate Friday at the United Nations in New York.

Canada, along with several other major fishing countries, has voiced opposition to a bottom-trawling moratorium that would cover unregulated waters beyond national jurisdiction or regional management arrangements.

Instead, Canada favours interim measures that could garner a wider range of support from the international community, such as creating regional bodies to manage unregulated areas.

Negotiations that got underway at the UN on Friday are scheduled to continue until Wednesday, Nov. 22. Any final agreement will likely go to the UN General Assembly for a decision on Dec. 7.

"The debate cannot be simplified in this very complex question to being either it's a moratorium or nothing," said Lori Ridgeway, an official with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

"We stand for something that's going to be real and practical and auditable and that we really can do and that the fishing nations will buy into a That's why consensus is so important," she said.

But many other countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand, are calling on the UN to adopt an immediate and binding moratorium.

Canada's position has been criticized by environmental groups who argue that Canadian opposition is detrimental to advancing greater protection for of ocean environments.

"We had a lot of hope that (Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn) would actually take some action on this," says Susanna Fuller, a representative for Canadian non-government organizations monitoring the talks. "Frankly the industrial fishing lobby is very strong."

But Ridgeway disputed this characterization.

"We are seen as helpful force in this discussion. We've been putting forward ideas a and we've been helping to organize a debate," she said. "This campaign that's running out there, from Greenpeace and others, saying that Canada is somehow a standing in the way of a moratorium is complete mischief. It is not the truth."

Bottom trawling is a fishing method whereby a giant net weighed down by massive steel gates is dragged along the ocean floor to scoop up bottom feeders. Environmental groups say the practice causes irreversible damage on sensitive deep-sea ecosystems, particularly coral reefs and sea mounts.

"The equivalent is sending a bulldozer to wipe out a forest to catch some squirrels," says Karen Sack of Greenpeace. "The net is pulled along with the chains and bobbings, crashing through everything, and it just destroys everything in its path."

Proponents compare their push for a trawling moratorium with earlier successful efforts toward curbing largescale driftnet fishing.

But fishing industry advocates say trawling only impacts a small percentage of the ocean floor, and insist the practice is essential for acquiring valuable ocean products including cod, hake and scallops.

They oppose a blanket prohibition that would cover ocean regions not in need of protection.

"This isn't a one-size fits all situation," says Stacey Viera of the National Fisheries Institute, a U.S. advocacy group. "Bottom tending is used in a variety of areas, and where we know there are sensitive areas that need to be promoted then those areas need to be targeted."

"It ends up sending the wrong message and demonizes one type of fishing gear," she added.

Other countries supporting a temporary moratorium include the United States, United Kingdom, Norway and Brazil.

But Canada is not alone in saying No. Major fishing countries such as Japan, South Korea and Russia maintain stiff opposition. The European Commission is also reluctant to support the proposal.

"Canada and the EC are the two big worries," said one delegate. "Canada's opposition doesn't make sense since they don't fish (with bottom trawls) on the high seas."

The fisheries industry in Canada is worried that a moratorium on the high seas would later be expanded to cover areas within national jurisdiction.

Canada's bottom-trawling fleet is restricted to Canadian territorial waters and to managed areas in the North Atlantic. According to the Fisheries Council of Canada, the practice produces about $1 billion worth of fish annually.

Source: Canadian Press

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