Canada is a water nation, whose fisheries and aquaculture sectors generate more than $6 billion per year and directly employ 80,000 people from coast to coast to coast. In 2010, nearly 1-in-every-10 adult Canadians went fishing for recreation, and the cultural role that fish play to many Indigenous Peoples of this land cannot be overstated.

When the Liberal government was elected in 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau issued a mandate letter to the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, which included a directive to base aquatic management decisions on science, facts, and evidence. As fisheries scientists, we applaud this, but promises alone cannot ensure a sustainable future for Canada’s fisheries. To do that, we need to improve the Fisheries Act — the law governing fish and their habitat in this country.

Clear, well-enforced laws that protect habitats for fish and other aquatic species will, in turn, support thriving fisheries. Until recently, the Fisheries Act reflected this responsibility. For example, the law used to prohibit harmful alteration, disruption, and destruction of fish habitat (HADD). Without intact habitat, fish cannot grow, reproduce, and thrive — ultimately reducing the ability of Canadians to sustain themselves from Canada’s aquatic resources.

But in 2012, the previous government eliminated the “HADD provisions” under the guise of cutting red tape. Through Bill C-38 — the omnibus budget bill — they muddled the definition of fish habitat and reduced the scope of protection to only fish directly involved in a fishery.

In many cases, this effectively gave a free pass to destroy aquatic environments. These changes prompted an outcry among scientists, conservationists, and even four former federal Fisheries Ministers across two political parties.

Now, Canada has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set things right — to undo the damage done by the previous government while positioning Canada as a world leader in fisheries management by placing science and evidence front and centre.

Over the past year, the federal government has embarked on extensive consultations with scientists, environmentalists, Indigenous groups, and industry about how to improve Canada’s fisheries law and policy. We contributed to those consultations. But three actions stand above all others as being critical to protecting Canada’s fisheries and the ecosystems that support them.

First, the government must reverse the 2012 changes to the Fisheries Act. The HADD provisions of the Act must be restored and legal protection must be extended once again to all fish species — not just those directly involved in fisheries. Historically, resource managers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada operated with a simple mantra: no habitat, no fish. This fundamental tenet must return to law.

Second, the government must complete stock assessments — the scientific study of the size and health of fish populations — for every fishery in Canada. According to Oceana Canada, nearly half of Canada’s marine fish stocks cannot be assessed properly due to a lack of data. This must be corrected as quickly as possible.

But counting fish is not enough — we must also help them recover when their populations are depleted. When a fish stock is in jeopardy, the law should require that a rebuilding plan be promptly produced, and its recovery targets and timelines should be central to management decisions.

Today, 25 years after the industrial Atlantic cod fishery was closed following the world’s largest fisheries collapse, northern cod still lack a rebuilding plan — a fact that “astonished” even federal members of Parliament tasked with studying management of Canadian fisheries.

Third, reformed fisheries legislation must not be undermined by loopholes, discrepancies in other laws, or the absence or inaccessibility of information. For example, when the government approves a project that will damage or disrupt fish habitat, there should be clear justification and a requirement for science-based habitat compensation with transparent, rigorous, and long-term monitoring to ensure the project does not contribute to net loss of fish habitat. To ensure transparency, results of these assessments must be made available to the public.

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Strengthening the Fisheries Act and its related regulations is essential to ensure fisheries will provide for present and future generations of Canadians. It will also ensure that other species that depend on healthy fish stocks (like bears, birds and whales) can continue to thrive. Failure to reform Canada’s fisheries law means lost fishing opportunities, shuttered coastal communities, and degraded lakes, rivers, and oceans — a future that benefits no one.

Brett Favaro, PhD, is a research scientist with the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Jonathan Moore, PhD, is the Liber Ero Chair of Coastal Science and Management, Simon Fraser University. Susanna Fuller, PhD, is senior marine co-ordinator, Ecology Action Centre. Steven Cooke, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology, Carleton University.