By Rashid Sumaila, Special to the Sun
The sad story of Newfoundland’s cod industry is well known: When the region’s once-thriving cod population collapsed in 1992, 40,000 jobs vanished along with a way of life. Atlantic cod, previously abundant, became an endangered species.
Char species, so critical to first nations communities, now face similar threats. Globally, fisheries are at risk because of overfishing exacerbated by climate change. Human apathy may be the biggest threat to declining fish species, though, as too many governments and individuals remain in denial about the urgency of the problem.
The warning signs of a growing crisis are clear: the Atlantic bluefin tuna spawning population, estimated at just 40 per cent of its peak in 1974, is now a “species of concern,” along with its cousin, the Pacific bluefin. In British Columbia, ling cod have nearly disappeared.
Read the full article in The Vancouver Sun.