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Fishery monitoring policy statement - summary

Fishery monitoring policy statement - summary
(PDF, 262 KB)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has developed a draft policy on fishery monitoring that sets out national objectives and principles for fishery monitoring programs and steps to apply the policy to individual fisheries. The steps replace ad hoc approaches with a consistent approach to reviewing and establishing monitoring programs. The draft policy will apply to all federally-managed fisheries, and will complement the policies in the Sustainable Fisheries Framework.

The policy aims to promote collaborative monitoring of catches, landings, location, ecosystem impacts, and compliance. Data providers are key participants in this process, namely:

The policy objectives focus on obtaining dependable, timely, and accessible fishery information. They guide monitoring programs to ensure managers use a consistent approach to determine data collection needs across fisheries. The objectives prioritize data essential for resource conservation, including target catches, bycatch and other ecosystem components, and compliance with fisheries regulations.

The policy principles state that a monitoring program should:

As different fisheries pose different risks to conservation and other fishery objectives, specific monitoring requirements will differ between fisheries. To implement the policy, DFO will develop work plans to highlight the priorities and timelines to put the policy into effect in individual fisheries.

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