Environment
Guide outfitter industry prioritized over the needs of BC hunters
Media Statement: December 15, 2014
Guide outfitter industry prioritized over the needs of BC hunters
For immediate release
Victoria, B.C. –The Government of British Columbia’s recent decision to prioritize the guide outfitting industry over the interests of resident British Columbia hunters is directly contrary to the public interest says Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and Deputy Leader of the BC Green Party.
On December 10th, 2014 the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations released his decision concerning how hunting licenses would be allocated between industry and British Columbians.
Contrary to the established Wildlife Allocation Policy, and the consultation process that developed it, this new decision allocated a massive increase in the proportion of licenses available to industry. This means that BC hunters, many of whom hunt for sustenance, may go without licenses this year.
“What we are seeing is the needs of industry being placed ahead of the needs of British Columbia residents,” said Andrew Weaver. “Last spring we had legislation passed that allowed guide outfitting operations to be owned by a foreign corporations, and now the government is supporting this industry on the backs of British Columbians.”
In February 2013, the government introduced the Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Statutes Amendment Act, 2014, which overhauled guide outfitting in BC. Importantly, it removed the requirement that a guide outfit can only be owned by a citizen of British Columbia, opening up the possibly that guide outfitters are owned and operated by corporations from other countries.
Since the legislation passed, government has maintained a focus on advancing the interests of this industry without mention of how it will affect BC hunters. In his June 2014 mandate letter, the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations was directed to “continue to work with BC Guides and Outfitters and other back country operators to ensure continued access and business certainty to Crown land and provide economic and tourism opportunities in rural British Columbia.”
“There are over 100,000 British Columbia residents who hunt each year, a number that has been growing over time,” said Andrew Weaver. “This government needs to halt their current approach to wildlife management and ensure that it is British Columbians who benefit from their policies.”
“I fail to see why they are advancing the interests of this industry ahead of the interests of British Columbians,” said Andrew Weaver.
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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
Mat.Wright@leg.bc.ca
Cell: 1 250 216 3382
Constituency Report – Review of the Fall Session and Issues in the Community
The Fall 2014 session of the Legislature has concluded with the passage of the LNG emission and taxation bills. Watch Andrew Weaver report on the debates and votes, along with events and issues that affect the riding of Oak Bay – Gordon Head and everyone around the province.
Thank you to SHAW TV for providing this community service.
My Christmas present to all BC MLAs
Today I mailed out 84 copies of a book I received from the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). Each MLA in the BC Legislature will receive their personal copy today. The book is written as a graphic novel with its content grounded in a detailed report published by the WBGU in 2011 entitled: World in Transition – A Social Contract for Sustainability.
In light of the fact that we just repealed some rather important climate mitigation policy, and in its place introduced two rather flimsy pieces of LNG legislation, I felt it was important for MLAs to brief themselves on the importance of transitioning our economy to the use low carbon energy systems.
Below I reproduce the letter I sent to MLAs as well as our media advisory.
The Letter
December 1, 2014
Dear MLA,
In the spirit of giving this Christmas, please find attached a copy of the book “The Great Transformation: Climate – Can we beat the heat?” produced by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). This book, recently translated into English by Bob Culverhouse, was developed in an easy-to-read comic-style in order to reach a broad and diverse audience
For your information, the WBGU, an independent, scientific advisory body comprising many of Germany’s most esteemed scholars, also recently produced a new report entitled “Climate Protection as a world Citizen Movement”, which can be accessed at:
www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sg2014_en.pdf
This new report provides a thorough assessment of the challenge faced by global society as we attempt to decarbonize our energy systems. I encourage you to browse through this comprehensive analysis.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday over the Christmas break and I look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Weaver
The Media Statement
Media Statement: December 2, 2014
Weaver gives all MLAs graphic novel on climate change for Christmas
For Immediate Release
Victoria, B.C. – Today, in the backdrop of new greenhouse gas emissions legislation that was passed during the fall legislative session, Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and Deputy Leader of the B.C. Green Party mailed an individual copy of The Great Transformation: Climate – Can we beat the heat? to every MLA in British Columbia.
The Great Transformation is an easy-to-read graphic-style book produced by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The WBGU is an independent, scientific advisory body comprising many of Germany’s most esteemed scholars. The book, which is based on the WBGU’s 2011 report “World in Transition – A Social Contract for Sustainability”, outlines the steps necessary to transition towards a low-carbon, sustainable society.
In the package sent to MLAs, Mr. Weaver also included a link to the WGBU new report titled “Climate Protection as a World Citizen Movement”. The report provides a thorough assessment of the challenge faced by global society as we attempt to decarbonize our energy systems.
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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
Mat.Wright@leg.bc.ca
Cell: 1 250 216 3382
Banning the sale of shark fins: Over to the Minister
Last week the Minister of Agriculture committed to meeting with me to discuss how the province of British Columbia could end the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in British Columbia. On Monday of this week we met. At the meeting I promised to put together a package of information that he committed to pass along to Ministry staff for a thorough review.
I am pleased to report that I presented the Minister with a binder containing detailed and comprehensive information outlining the rationale for implementing legislation to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in British Columbia. Below I reproduce the letter and the table describing the information contained in the binder.
Please note that the information in Tab 10 is especially pertinent to British Columbia. BC has a highly regarded and sustainable spiny dogfish industry. BC legislation could include a specific exemption for spiny and smooth dogfish that are lawfully caught by a licensed fisher.
I am very grateful to Margaret McCullough and the GNS Fin Free Students, Julia Baum at the University of Victoria, Nicholas Dulvy at Simon Fraser University, Gabriel Wildgen at Humane Society International/Canada, and Nicholas Wright at Wright Business Law in Toronto for their assistance and/or advice as I put together this package.
Letter to the Minister
Dear Minister Letnick,
I very much appreciated you agreeing to meet with me on Monday, November 24 to further discuss the question I posed to you in the legislature on Thursday, November 20. As you will recall, I asked whether or not the Province would consider introducing legislation to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in British Columbia.
In the meeting, I agreed to provide you with a package of information that you committed to passing along to Ministry staff for a thorough review. Please find attached a binder containing such information.
The binder is separated into fifteen sections whose contents are summarized below.
Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me to discuss this important issue. I very much look forward to your further correspondence.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Weaver
MLA Oak Bay Gordon Head
Summary of Binder Contents
Tab |
Contents |
Description of Contents |
| 1 | Summary Letter | Copy of this letter |
| 2 | Legal Opinion | Legal opinion provided by Nicholas Wright, Barrister & Solicitor, to Humane Society International/Canada. The opinion states: “British Columbia has the authority to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins through constitutional provisions pursuant to section 92(13) and section 92(16) of our constitution.” |
| 3 | Scientific Studies | Four key scientific papers are included.1) Worm et al., 2013: Global catches, exploitation rates, and rebuilding options for sharks. Marine Policy, 40, 194-204.I quoted from this study in Question Period. In this study, Worm and his colleagues produced three independent estimates of the average rate that sharks are killed per year. These estimates ranged between 6.4% and 7.9%, all exceeding 4.9% per year — the amount needed to keep populations stable.2) Dulvy et al., 2014: Extinction risk and conservation of the world’s sharks and ray. eLIFE: eLife 2014;3:e00590. http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00590.001Dulvy (from SFU) and his colleagues examined the extinction threat of 1,041 species of sharks and rays. One quarter of all of these species, particularly larger species in shallow waters that are harvested in the finning industry, are threatened with extinction. Only 37.4% of all species are considered safe.
3) Ferretti et al., 2010: Patterns and ecosystem consequences of shark declines in the ocean. Ecology Letters, 13, 1055-1071. Ferretti and colleagues examined the effects that declining populations of large sharks have had on marine biodiversity. They found that human predation of these large sharks has had a significant effect on marine communities of other species. 4) Clarke et al., 2012: Population trends in Pacific oceanic sharks and utility of regulations on shark finning. Conservation Biology, 27, 197–209. Clarke and colleagues found declining shark populations in the Pacific Ocean and noted “targeted fishing for sharks in some regional fisheries heighten concerns for sustainable utilization”. |
| 4 | Media – Global | Several examples of media coverage from around the world on the topic of shark finning. |
| 5 | Media – US | Several examples of US media coverage of shark finning. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, as well as California, Oregon, and Washington have all banned the sale of shark fins. |
| 6 | Media – Canada | Two examples from Canadian media coverage of shark finning. |
| 7 | Media – BC | A few examples from BC media coverage of shark finning. Of particular note is the article pointing out the success of the UBCM resolution as well as the CTV news article that points out that fins from sharks that are now on the UN CITES list (tab 14) were found for sale in Vancouver. |
| 8 | Weaver blog | Copies of all blog posts on my website: AndrewWeaverMLA.ca that concern shark finning. |
| 9 | Global legislation | A list of jurisdictions around the world that have regulations on shark finning. |
| 10 | BC Dogfish + US Legislation | Information concerning the well-managed, sustainable, British Columbia spiny dogfish industry.In addition, I have included sample legislation from New York State. New York also has a sustainable dogfish industry. They included a specific exemption for spiny and smooth dogfish that were lawfully caught by a licensed fisher. |
| 11 | BC Municipal Legislation | Information concerning municipal legislation in North Vancouver and Port Moody where shark fin possession, sale, trade and distribution bans have been passed. |
| 12 | Polling info | Polling results from March 2013 conducted by Environics Research Group for Humane Society International – Canada. The poll indicates only 13% of Canadians oppose a ban on importing shark fins to Canada. |
| 13 | IUCN SSG Position | Position statement of the United Nations International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) on shark finning. Note that Dr. Nicholas Dulvy, co-chair of the IUCN SSG, is a Canada Research Chair in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Simon Fraser University.The position statement notes: “shark finning …threatens many shark stocks, the stability of marine ecosystems, sustainable traditional fisheries, food security and socio-economically important recreational fisheries.” |
| 14 | UN CITES | Copy of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora together with its appendices. The list includes five orders in subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks). The five orders are: Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks), Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks), Orectolobiformes (carpet sharks), Pristiformes (swordfish) and Rajiformes (skates). |
| 15 | CITES Parties | List of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora indicating that Canada ratified the agreement on April 10, 1975. |
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Working Towards a Ban on Shark Fin Sales – Next Steps
Today I met with the Honourable Norm Letnick, Minister of Agriculture, as a follow-up to the question I raised in the Legislature last week as to whether or not the province would be prepared to introduce legislation to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in British Columbia.
It was a very fruitful meeting and the Minister tasked me with putting together a package of information that he would commit to passing along to Ministry staff for a thorough review. The review is to be evidence-based, which is precisely what I had hoped for.
I have already tabled a legal opinion that concludes that the provincial government has the power to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in B.C. At this stage, the information that I plan to put together is as follows:
- Annotated bibliography (with original papers) revealing the plight of global shark populations;
- List of jurisdictions worldwide that have banned the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in British Columbia;
- Relevant media clippings from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California and other jurisdictions concerning the process and subsequent public reaction to the banning of the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins;
- Evidence concerning internationally protected shark species.
While I have been following this issue for a few years, I recognize that there are many in the community who have far greater knowledge on this topic than I do, including internationally-renown scientist, Dr. Julia Baum, at the University of Victoria. Should you have relevant information in any of these areas, I would be delighted if you would please share it with me by emailing me at: Andrew.Weaver.MLA@leg.bc.ca
My goal is to get a complete package to the Minister by the end of the week.
Header Photo Credit: Rob Stewart, Director, Sharkwater.
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