The David Suzuki Foundation explained that hike in fuel prices have kept bottom-trawl boats from fishing the longspine thornyhead off Canada’s Pacific coast this year, but the federal government must still impose an immediate interim closure of the fishery to ensure the “idiotfish” and its sensitive habitat are protected. It is true that ‘idiotfish’ fishery is the most unsustainable fishery in Canada’s Pacific waters under any scientific criteria.
David Suzuki Foundation senior conservation specialist Bill Wareham told that the ‘idiotfish’ fishery targets a species at risk, and takes place in sensitive deep-water habitats. He added that this fishery is akin to a mining operation for precious metals, scouring miles of precious habitat for little fleshy nuggets. According to the Foundation the fishery should be closed until Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) implements a management plan to rebuild the population and protect its habitat, and develops a transparent public-advisory process to oversee the fishery.
As high fuel prices combined with market factors have led to a curtailment of this fuel-intensive fishery, there is strong need of government regulation to ensure the longspine thornyhead – referred to by industry as “idiotfish” – and its sensitive habitat are protected from bottom trawling. Last year the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) officially listed the longspine thornyhead as special concern. Later this year the federal government will decide whether to legally list it under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.
