Are Canada's recreational fisheries in danger of collapsing?.
The issue I have addressed is the possibility of our recreational fisheries becoming in danger of collapsing. More specifically, the way in which our potential recreational fisheries downfall might be masked, and therefore may come suddenly with sustainability efforts being too little too late.
Fishing is a huge industry in which many people enjoy. It is of great value economically and socially throughout many parts of the world. The recreational fishing "industry" in Canada alone has been evaluated at 4.4 to 4.7 billion dollars Canadian annually (DFO 1998). This is big money being spent and is money governments intend to fully capitalize on. The fact that fishing is such a hugely popular sport gives incentive to exploit the fish resources. DFO 1998, also points out that 26% of expenditures directly attributed to recreational fishing in Canada were contributed by non-Canadians. Naturally these tourists, along with Canadian tourists and locals need to be satisfied in order for them to keep spending money in the industry. This is where we start to see some of the problems with keeping our fish stock healthy.
Although the quantitative data required for a definite assessment of the overall state of Canada's recreational facilities does not exist, a survey of Canadian freshwater fisheries identified substantial areas showing general declines in a number of recreational fish species (Post et al 2002). The areas of decline tended to be near those areas of urban development and larger population density. Even with surveys that show a decline in some fish populations, it is hard to determine how far population abundance must be pushed by over fishing to call it a collapse. Post et al 2002, write that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada categorizes the criteria being a 50% decline in 10 years, or 3 generations to define a species as endangered.