• Prioritize stock assessments, stock recovery planning and enforcement of science-based catch limits because these have been shown to be the most important predictors of well-managed fisheries. We will also ensure that stock recovery plans incorporate climate change risks.

• Strengthen the role of advisory bodies in fisheries management to enhance cooperation between resource users and ensure that commercial, recreational, and cultural fishers can all have confidence in management decisions.

• Work collaboratively with Indigenous rights-holders and commercial harvesters to develop management plans which fulfill the rights recognized in the Marshall decisions, protect the sustainability of our fisheries, and ensure that coastal communities can continue to thrive.

• Improve the Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation processes by:

° Ensuring that MPAs are focused on contributing to the sustainability of critical stocks;

° Restoring meaningful public consultation to the MPA process; and

° Exploring the feasibility of new models, such as dynamic MPAs, that will improve climate change resiliency.

• Work with stakeholders, First Nations, and regional jurisdictions to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management, including control of abundant predator populations which impact commercial and SARA-listed species.

• Update and strengthen DFO’s national aquatic invasive species program and ensure that the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations are being implemented.

• Address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, seafood fraud and ghost gear.

• Restore community-based conservation initiatives like the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program, provide more support for hatcheries, and support public conservation education initiatives.

• Create a Canadian Seafood Development Agency to advance the sustainable growth of the sector

° The Agency will be responsible for developing a long-term strategy and sustainable growth plan in partnership with the provinces.

• Work with governments and communities in Nunatsiavut, Nunavut, Nunavik, and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region to develop community-based marine fisheries, which will help create employment and fight local and regional food insecurity.

° For communities across Inuit Nunangat, oceans are an essential lifeline and source of food.

— Canada's Recovery Plan, retrieved 2021-08-18

Building on the commitments already outlined above, we will develop a Pacific Salmon Strategy focused on making measurable progress toward restoring at-risk stocks. This will include:

• Enforcing a strict timeline for the completion of stock assessments;

• Prioritizing funding for community-led habitat restoration or other projects that support at-risk stocks;

• Ensuring the Salmonid Enhancement Program is sufficiently resourced to support at-risk stocks;

• Increasing support for and engagement with Indigenous- and community-led hatchery and enhancement projects;

• Implementing mass-marking programs at BC fish hatcheries and allowing mark-selective harvest of salmon in BC’s sport fishery, protecting sensitive fish populations while maintaining the health of BC’s public fishery;

• Creating a pinniped management plan that will address threats to at-risk stocks in a balanced way; and

• Identifying the likelihood of future threats due to climate change.

— Canada's Recovery Plan, retrieved 2021-08-18

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New Democrats are committed to a vision of strong coastal communities, sustainable fisheries and thriving marine and freshwater ecosystems. With the right choices today, we can protect our fisheries and the jobs they provide for generations to come – and make Canada a global leader in ocean and freshwater sustainability.

In order to protect wild salmon on the Pacific coast, our approach will be focused on conserving, protecting, and restoring critical habitat. We will fully implement the recommendations of the Cohen Commission and work with the province of British Columbia and First Nations to support the transition to land-based closed-containment systems.

On the Atlantic coast, New Democrats will ensure that resource allocations in the fishery are guided by the principles of adjacency, historic dependence and sustainability, while also respecting Indigenous rights.

When it comes to sustainability, New Democrats recognize that the wellbeing of our communities is reliant upon the health of our marine and freshwater ecosystems. That’s why we will invest in habitat restoration and the rebuilding of fish stocks, as well as in strengthening our response to oil spills and derelict vessels to better protect our coasts.

— Ready for Better, retrieved 2021-08-27

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Facilitate and support meaningful Nation-to-Nation engagement at the local and regional levels on the management of shared marine resources to avoid future disputes over lack of clarity on fisheries law

— Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Allocate funding to fill knowledge gaps for stocks whose sustainability status is uncertain, and where stock assessments have not been completed within a five-year period. Funding will contribute to field surveys, assessments, mortality estimates and monitoring and evaluation of rebuilding plans and management measures

● Complete rebuilding plans by 2024 for the 26 stocks currently in the critical zone by including measures and objectives that are science and ecosystem based

● Work with Indigenous and provincial governments to phase out open net-pen finfish aquaculture in Pacific waters by 2025 and all Canadian waters by 2030.

● Support a just transition of impacted workers and incentivize the move to land-based closed containment facilities.

● Support sustainable shellfish and seaweed aquaculture and community-owned operations and ensure meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and other stakeholders when making aquaculture siting decisions.

● Protect independent harvesters and coastal communities by entrenching owner-operator and fleet separation policies in the Fisheries Act.

● Commit to timely and transparent access to fisheries management plans and data as well as records of fisheries management advisory committee processes in order to more effectively involve Indigenous peoples, civil society and communities in the process of managing our fisheries as public resources.

● Implement the 20 recommendations of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report, West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits.

— Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

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