The
Canadian Shrimp Fishery is subject to regulations
and quotas which ensure that our stocks of coldwater
shrimp remain abundant, well managed and that the
impact of fishing gear on the environment is reduced
to a minimum. A few countries have passed laws which
make the use of the Nordmore grate mandatory, as
is the case in Canada since 1993. This system prevents
non-target species from being caught and allows
a bycatch rate of less than 1%, which rate is monitored
by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.(1)
In Canada, bycatch
is closely monitored by government observers. Should
bycatch for other protected groundfish species exceed
1% (in the form of juvenile fish or other), shrimp
fishing is closed in the affected zone.(1)
One other regulation
which helps reduce the amount of waste; the mesh
of the net must be of a certain size to allow young
shrimp and juvenile fish (and other organisms) to
pass through them.(2)
Otherwise the life cycle of the species would be
affected.
The Canadian Shrimp
Fishery nonetheless causes some damage, namely to
corals living on the ocean floor. Cold water corals
grow more slowly than their warmwater cousins, and
are therefore even more susceptible to destruction
from bottom trawling.(3)
The effects of bottom trawling are common throughout
the world and are not limited to the Canadian Shrimp
Industry. However, because Canadian coldwater shrimp
are smaller, the thread used for the nets is also
finer. To avoid damaging these more delicate nets,
Canadian shrimp fishermen try to avoid rocky and
coral rich areas.
A Sustainable
Fishery Certification (4)
would be of great help to the Canadian Shrimp industry.
As the name implies, this certification is given
by an independent body when a fishery is well managed,
stocks remain abundant and environmental impacts
are minimal. Many Atlantic and Pacific provinces
are interested in getting this certification. This
process could be helped by government intervention
and, in some cases, financial assistance. This certification
would help Canadian consumers identify these products
at the supermarket and also make Canadian shrimp
more exportable, as countries around the world are
increasingly asking for certified shrimp products.
The Quebec Shrimp
industry was close to shutting down this year. In
the spring of 2006, fishermen and processors were
in a deadlock over the landed price for shrimp.
One of the reasons; too much cheap warmwater shrimp
on the Canadian and international markets. Add to
this the price of fuel which keeps going up, the
soaring Canadian dollar (which makes exporting more
difficult) and we understand why shrimp fishing
may no longer be a good business to be in. In fact,
it may well disappear altogether in Quebec in the
coming years.(5)(6)
In 2003, the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC) received a
petition from the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee
(a group of U.S. shrimp producers) asking to initiate
an antidumping investigation concerning imported
frozen and canned warmwater shrimp. The investigation
led to tariffs being imposed on these products in
2005, thus protecting the American shrimp producers.(7)(8)
There are no shrimp
farms in Canada. All Canadian coldwater shrimp come
from our clean, cold waters. It is important to
point this out because this is not the case with
imported farmed shrimp.
