Sierra Legal challenges
dragger fishing

In late January, Sierra Legal Defence Fund's legal team was in Federal Court in Halifax challenging a decision made by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to allow destructive dragger fishing to take place on Georges Bank, one of Atlantic Canada's most important remaining fishing grounds.

On behalf of the Ecology Action Centre (EAC), Sierra Legal Defence Fund staff lawyers Robert Wright and Margot Venton argued in court that permitting the use of dragger fishing methods on Georges Bank is illegal because it violates provisions of the federal Fisheries Act that explicitly prohibit the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat (HADD).

"Our argument is that by allowing dragger fishing on Georges Bank, DFO has violated its own legal obligation to ensure conservation of Canadian fisheries and protection of fish habitat," said Rob Wright. Co-counsel Margot Venton added, "The HADD provisions of the Fisheries Act are aimed at preventing these types of destructive activities from occurring, and we hope that the Court will make DFO abide by its own rules."

Draggers catch groundfish such as cod and haddock by towing heavily weighted nets, often weighing thousands of kilograms, across the seafloor. In the process, extensive areas of the ocean floor are scoured causing serious damage to a diverse underwater environment. A wide body of scientific research has concluded that dragger methods significantly reduce biodiversity on the ocean floor and that dragging destroys habitat required by many marine invertebrates and fish species, including the juveniles of the species targeted by dragging.

The EAC believes dragging damages fish habitat and that DFO should encourage the use of less destructive gear and restrict draggers to less sensitive habitat. Georges Bank is one of the last productive fishing grounds in Canadian waters and has one of the few remaining viable hook and line fisheries.

"Science and common sense says that dragging damages the ocean bottom. If you destroy the habitat on which groundfish depend, then ultimately you won't have a fishing industry," says Mark Butler of the EAC. "We need to conserve habitat so that we conserve local jobs and have a sustainable fishing industry."

The court challenge was begun in 2001 and developed by former Sierra Legal lawyer Ray MacCallum, assisted by staff scientist Mitch Anderson. A decision is expected later in 2004.