Point-of-View on MPAs: Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada

John Trevor
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
122 Waterfront Road
Canada, 47690
February 26, 2018
Lansera Thomas
Chaminade Community
Canada, 47690
Dear Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
The aim of writing this letter is to urge you to open more No-Take Marine Protected Areas (NTMPAs) to protect marine diversity in Canada while managing the country’s fisheries sustainably. Even though this request is coming from only a concerned citizen, it is the best interest of the country based on the conducted research.
According to Pauly (2008), there have been massive increases in fisheries following the Second World War. However, with over-fishing that began in 1970s and increased in 1980s and 1990s has led to tremendous effects that might eventually lead to extinct of different types of fish. While the exercise started with catch declines, over-fishing pushed people to the coasts and later to the south. Since the activities are uncontrolled, the effect is not only on decline of fisheries but also on the noted damage on marine biodiversity and ecosystems.
As explained by Bond and Wignall (2008), initially, fishing was uncontrolled because the experienced collapse of fisheries was not an alarm to the public. This is because the practice was limited to small pelagic fishes with their vitality attributed to environmental factors. However, this practice was later extended to other types of fishes and fisheries leading to a threat to the population. While there are numerous organizations and individuals trying to correct the problem, their efforts lead to more problems than good. To start with, there is lack of recognition of one another’s achievements resulting to confrontation. This leads to increased overexploitation of fisheries without any effective solution.
As argued by Worm, et al. (2006), without control of fishing activities, the increasing population of human beings will continue to suffer. This is based on the fact that marine ecosystems are a source of varied goods and services for many people and especially for those living close to the coast. This means that with uncontrolled fishing, many people would suffer from flood control as well as waste detoxification. The evidenced changes in marine biodiversity are argued by Gaston (2000) to result from exploitation, habitat destruction, and pollution. It can also result from climate change as linked pert...