Renewing the Oceans Protection Plan

Integrate land use and marine use planning so that spatial plans can support the reciprocal relationship between land and water systems.

Please only use cruelty free research

Please phase out commercial and recreational fishing. Many species are at risk because of bycatch, a euphemism for non target animals who are injured or killed in fishing gear. Please protect fish habitat for the sake of the fish, rather than for the sake of anglers. I noticed that “beaver management” and “beaver dam breaching” was mentioned. Lethal management of beavers and other animals is cruel, ineffective, and costly. Please only use non lethal methods. Please avoid animal methods of testing for sewer effluent and other contamination. Canada is phasing out highly expensive, cruel, and inaccurate animal toxicity tests. Please also stop using lethal sampling methods for fish, frogs, etc, and switch to humane bio monitoring of wildlife, using the same methods used for humans and pets. https://www.change.org/p/stop-testing-sewer-water-on-laboratory-fish Please only use humane non lethal exclusion methods to keep animals away from drinking water sources. Lethal methods are cruel, ineffective, expensive, and, in the case of rodenticide, contaminate the watershed. Canadian made alternatives to Vivisection https://www.uwindsor.ca/ccaam/ Non Lethal Beaver management https://thefurbearers.com/downloads/PDFs/Beaver%20Book%20-%202019-10-08%20The%20Fur-Bearers.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1wp4qVXhAiDt3OzeAmlNe5bo35m0opAuPKZ9oLgWYmVk6JNcohAMtlrpI https://www.beaverinstitute.org/?fbclid=IwAR2nZ0zjx5P4EeU5Iq3uUjtnNs7oV3RY3dTrfc6aydZ-pe2Op0DEU3wd4Yw https://beaverdeceivers.com/?fbclid=IwAR0FuQ_fWRsCgG4Tgy4zmdmG8gCX37xdfPjxiknY98OUnSk9kfrW97PwgWQ https://www.animalalliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Beaver-Manual_May-2016.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2tlWjDkRgu-vBW9t3SSg9pfOqKN2ESUO3ezIndu9dLjijNa8lnIZt7qdE Non lethal mouse and rat management https://www.facebook.com/RFOntario/ Non lethal cormorant management https://www.greatlakescormorants.com/ Non lethal goose and swan management https://muteswansociety.org/ https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/humanely-scare-away-canada-geese https://www.canadageese.org/nlcontrol.html https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/humane-goose-control-pdf.pdf https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-canada-geese

Please protect all wildlife

Currently, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans oversees the conservation of fish, marine mammals, and other marine life. The problem with this is, is that DFO sees fish and marine mammals as “food” and “resources”. It would be better if a neutral organization oversaw the conservation of marine animals. Commercial and recreational Fishing destroys not only fish, but non target animals like birds, marine mammals, turtles, sharks, etc. There are plenty of plant based food alternatives, and cruelty free recreations like photography. Fish watching instead of fishing. Please also invest in marine animal rescue organizations. Please ban places like Marineland that exploit marine animals for entertainment.

Fish research must be humane

Far too often, fish research involves invasive methods like capturing fish, and often even involves killing fish. Canada is moving away from research methods that harm other animals, it is about time we use Environmental DNA, photography, sound recordings, and other cruelty free ways to study fish. Canada is phasing out toxicity testing on animals. Please switch to animal free methods of testing effluent and other substances. For wild fish and birds, please stop lethal sampling and switch to humane non lethal bio monitoring like is done in humans. https://www.change.org/p/stop-testing-sewer-water-on-laboratory-fish

Please ban fish poison

Using deleterious substances to control invasive fish is both cruel and incredibly dangerous. Even if using potassium permanganate to deactivate the insecticide rotonone after putting insecticides into water to kill round gobys and other “invasive” fish, the damage has already been done. There are no safe or humane uses of vertebrate pesticides. Pesticides are not an appropriate method of euthanasia, and they will still be in the bodies of their victims. Additionally, additives and adjuvants to make the pesticides tasteless, odourless, and stronger, will make the pesticides more dangerous. With or without additives, all pesticides go right up the foodchain. Many birds, fish, mammals eat round gobys, asian carp, and other invasive fish. The piscicide and insecticide Rotenone can stay in the environment for up to six months, and causes seizures, vomiting, breathing problems, muscle tremors, and all sorts of other horrible symptoms, according to the awful toxicity studies on dogs, rats, and bunnies. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/rotenone# Fish do feel pain just as acutely as other animals. www.fishfeel.org The point of using piscicides is to kill off fish undesirable to anglers and commercial fisheries. The goal of “invasive” species control is to improve the fishing industry, not animal welfare. Even if an animal is invasive or a pest, their welfare is still important. Killing every single fish (and subsequently, fish predator) in the vicinity in an attept to control one or two invasive species is ludicrous. The collateral damage caused by these piscicides is not worth it. Please ban all vertebrate pesticides across Canada.

Include wildlife centres in rescue and education

Please watch out for wildlife. Please work with Wildlife rehabilitation centres to rescue animals in oil spills. www.hopeforwildlife.net Please watch out for marine animals. Ships can be noisy and confuse whales and other marine mammals. An electric ship with a quiet engine is better. Please add microphones to the ship to hear marine mammals and to get an idea how loud the ship is. Please also use an app like iNaturalist to identify whales in the area. Please work with Hope for Wildlife and the Marine Animal Response/Rescue Society to rescue any animals who are harmed or in danger. I hope the National Wildlife Emergency Response Framework is focused on saving animals. https://tc.canada.ca/en/initiatives/oceans-protection-plan/report-canadians-investing-our-coasts-through-oceans-protection-plan https://letstalktransportation.ca/opp-renew Walrus have been persecuted in countries like Norway (Freya was shot as a nuisance animal after she was spotted sitting on yachts). The UK has taken a more humane approach, by providing walrus who show up with their own “yachts” (rubber platforms). All hunting of walrus in the Atlantic should be banned, and please work with organizations like Hope For Wildlife and Marine Animal Response Society to protect and care for any walruses who show up in the Atlantic ocean.

Implement contract offshore fire, salvage, and recovery service for BC West Coast

In October 2021, there was a cargo ship fire off the coast of Vancouver Island. American contractors were dispatched to fight the fire and undertake salvage operations because western Canada lacks the capacity. Canada should adopt requirements for commercial vessels to have contracts with offshore fire services for Canadian waters. This is already done in the USA (and most other maritime trading countries) as a for profit, non agency business. Atlantic Canada has 2 such contractors thanks to offshore oil and gas exploration. The west coast has 2 vessels operated by the Coast Guard, but that is a lot of area to cover (27000km of coast line). It would require seed money to get implemented. Capacity charges from contracts with shippers and potentially adding port fees would allow 24/7 stand by service. I would propose 2 bases each with 1 AHTS vessel with FiFi3 with oil recovery systems, 1 rapid response fire boats, and 1 offshore equipped helicopter with hoists. One base on Vancouver Island, and the other at Queen Charlotte or Prince Rupert ports.

Use only cruelty free ways to study pollution

Please avoid animal methods of testing for sewer effluent and other contamination. Canada is phasing out highly expensive, cruel, and inaccurate animal toxicity tests. Please also stop using lethal sampling methods for fish, frogs, etc, and switch to humane bio monitoring of wildlife, using the same methods used for humans and pets. https://www.change.org/p/stop-testing-sewer-water-on-laboratory-fish

Protect wildlife

Please engage with wildlife rescues like Hope for Wildlife.