For Immediate Release
May 1, 2017
Ottawa, Ont. – The Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association’s Government Affairs Chair Phil Morlock will testify to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans on Tuesday, May 2nd.
At 8:45 a.m. Morlock will address the committee regarding their review of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s). In particular, he will discuss how the economic health of Canada’s recreational fishing industry and 100,000 related jobs and economies rely on environmentally sustainable fishery management and public access to places to fish. Canada’s 8 million anglers and the $9 billion annual economy they generate are the single largest constituency of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The CSIA strongly supports science based management of our marine and freshwater resources, including protection zones when justified to address a specific viable threat to underwater habitat, spawning locations, etc. However, the CSIA’s stance is that MPA’s and Freshwater Protected Areas (FPA’s) should be just one tool among the many options available for effective fisheries management, and recreational fishing can and should continue in any such designated areas. Because they can be the most draconian strategy to prevent angler access to places to fish, the use of MPA’s and FPA’s should be considered only after conventional resource management measures have failed.
A live audio feed of the meeting can be found here.
About the CSIA/ CNSF: The Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association and Canadian National Sportfishing Foundation are non-profits dedicated to the promotion and protection of recreational fishing in Canada. Our programs include Keep Canada Fishing, Catch Fishing, and Bob Izumi’s Kids, Cops and Canadian Tire Fishing Days.
For more details please contact Mike Melnik at 877 822 8881 or mike@impactcom.ca.
