Canada Releases First-Ever Legally Mandated Plans to Rebuild Depleted Fisheries - Oceana Canada

Victory | September 16, 2025

Canada Releases First-Ever Legally Mandated Plans to Rebuild Depleted Fisheries

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Canada’s first legally mandated fisheries rebuilding plans mark a major step toward restoring ocean abundance. If implemented effectively, the plans could strengthen coastal and Indigenous fisheries, support more resilient ecosystems, and help secure long-term food security. The 12 new plans cover key Atlantic fisheries, including iconic forage fish such as Atlantic mackerel and herring, economically and culturally important cod, and groundfish like American plaice, winter flounder, and white hake. Off the Pacific coast, plans include culturally and ecologically significant species like Chinook salmon and Pacific herring.

FEATURED CAMPAIGN

2025 Audit Shows Fisheries are Still at Risk as Rebuild Law Lags 

A new national audit shows Canada is falling behind on implementing its own fisheries rebuilding law — leaving most marine fish stocks without the protections needed to recover. One-third depleted, one-third uncertain — and most still lack legal safeguards for rebuilding.  

Despite progress this year, including 12 new rebuilding plans and greater transparency around climate considerations, the overall picture remains troubling: key decisions continue to ignore scientific advice, climate-ready management is absent for most stocks, and gaps in forage fish science and management puts ecosystem heath at risk. 

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