February 27, 2015 — It seems that two kinds of stories from the Atlantic fishery rate front-page coverage in the Canadian media: fishing trips that end in tragedy (or near tragedy) and reports of fish stocks in decline.
In fact, most Canadians think of the East Coast fishery as a disaster and unable to support good livelihoods for the thousands of people who continue to fish and work in seafood processing plants in Atlantic Canada. In fact, exports of seafood add almost $1 billion annually to the Nova Scotia economy.
When it sank, the Poseidon Princess was returning from a fishing trip to the most productive spawning and nursery area in Canadian Atlantic waters. Georges Bank is home to a unique circular current that retains nutrients and larval life. The productivity of this bank is witnessed by the largest year class of haddock (2010) that has been recorded in the last 50 years. Haddock, lobster, scallop and herring stocks on Georges Bank continue to sustain lucrative fisheries in both Nova Scotia and New England.
You would think that governments responsible for managing this unique ocean area would want to protect it from risks associated with oil and gas activity. A blowout similar to the recent Deep Water Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico would be devastating to many fishing communities in southwestern Nova Scotia and New England. Eighty per cent of Georges Bank lies in American waters.
Two governments have acted responsibly to protect Georges Bank. The Obama administration announced on Jan. 26 that the entire Atlantic offshore area from Maryland to the Canadian border (including Georges Bank) will remain off-limits to oil and gas activity until at least 2022.
Previously, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly passed legislation, with unanimous, all-party support, announcing its wish to extend a moratorium protecting Georges Bank through 2022. That legislation called upon the federal government to join with Nova Scotia in passing similar legislation.
Read the full opinion piece at the Halifax Chronicle Herald