Co-hosted by:
One Ocean —
Newfoundland/
Labrador
Simon Fraser
University
• Centre for Coastal
Studies
• Continuing
Studies in Science
Sponsored by:
cGRASP
(Consortium for
Genomic Research of
all Salmonids Project)
Ocean Management
Research Network,
Linking Science with
Local Knowledge
Working Group
Fisheries and Oceans
Canada
Oceans and Marine
Fisheries Branch,
BC Ministry of
Environment
Shorefast Foundation
Royal Canadian
Geographical Society
Canadian Association
of Petroleum Producers
For more information
about the Canada
Ocean Lecture series,
visit http://www.sfu.
ca/cstudies/science/
canadaoceanlecture.htm
Lament For A Nation’s Oceans
Free public lecture by Dr. Jeff Hutchings
Moderated by Gordon Slade, Executive Director, One Ocean
October 13, 2009, 10:00 am–12:00 noon
Hampton Hall, Marine Institute, Memorial University, Ridge Road, St. John’s
A lament — a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
A fair depiction of how one might feel about the state
of the oceans? Unduly strong? Overly pessimistic?
And does a lament necessarily imply irretrievable loss?
Or can it identify targets for politically supported,
scientifically defensible strategies for conservation and
recovery?
Since the extension of the Exclusive Economic
Zone to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) in
1977, a single human generation has passed during
which Canada’s oceans have experienced historically
unprecedented biological change. The Atlantic
has borne witness to the greatest numerical loss
of a vertebrate in Canadian history, the Atlantic
Cod. The iconic Pacific salmon and Canada’s
largest fish (Basking Shark, White Sturgeon), all
of which depend on the coastal waters of British
Columbia, are imperilled throughout much of their
respective ranges. The Arctic, no longer a refuge
from the environmental detritus of socio-economic
ambivalence, is home to culturally and biologically
integral species, such as Polar Bear and Beluga Whale,
that are increasingly threatened with extinction.
Biological depredation of the waters bordered by
the longest coastline in the world ultimately reflects
ineffectual leadership and disingenuous commitment
to environmental sustainability. There is a clear need
to replace governmental and societal lip service
with meaningful responses to over-exploitation,
habitat alteration, and climate change. Such
responses will almost certainly require: committed,
honourable leadership; legislative restructuring of
ocean governance responsibilities; environmentallyinformed consumer choices; historical perspective;
and acceptance of the inevitable short-term, socioeconomic costs — to be borne by all Canadians —
that will be required to achieve longer-term, societal
benefits. Recovering and maintaining the health of
our oceans is a non-negotiable responsibility to future
generations that we neither can afford, nor have the
right, to ignore.
Dr. Hutchings is a Professor of Biology and the
Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation and
Biodiversity at Dalhousie University. He is also the
Chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) — the national
science advisory body responsible for advising the
federal Minister of the Environment on the status
of species at risk in Canada. Additional professional
responsibilities have included: Editor of Canadian
Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences; founding Member
of the Governing Council for the Canadian Society of
Ecology and Evolution; Member and Co-Chair of the
Evolution & Ecology Grant Selection Committee of
NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council; www.nserc.ca); Editorial Board Member for
Proceedings Royal Society B, Evolutionary Applications,
and Environmental Reviews; and Member of the Royal
Society of Canada’s Expert Panel on the Future of
Food Biotechnology and Committee on Expert Panels.