Canada will not join call for bottom trawling ban

Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Loyola Hearn has said that Canada will not join the call for a ban on bottom trawling.

In a recent statement, Minister Hearn said that although a complete ban on bottom-trawl gear is the focus of protests and environmental group rallies, “Canada, like many other responsible fishing nations, does not see a blanket ban as the way forward.”

Instead he supports putting RFMOs in place in unregulated areas of the high seas to identify and protect vulnerable habitat and “deal harshly” with those breaking the rules.

He said that rules such as the ‘Oceans Act’ allow Canada to protect the environment while still allowing for sustainable fishing.

According to Hearn, the industry has also been required to modify some gear types to be less damaging to the ocean bottom.