Josh Laughren - Oceana Canada

Josh Laughren

Executive Director, Oceana Canada | Senior Vice President, Oceana

Oceana Staff

Josh Laughren

Josh Laughren has spent 30 years in leadership positions in conservation, communications and climate change.

 He has helped reform Canada’s fisheries laws and establish marine protected areas on all three of Canada’s coasts, reduce plastic pollution, secure better protection for endangered North Atlantic right whales and pass new laws to crack down on illegal oil dumping from ships.

 As Executive Director in Canada and Senior Vice President for Oceana globally, Josh oversees all campaigns to rebuild ocean abundance in Canada and provides strategic support to countries and campaigns across the globe.

 Josh is committed to rebuilding Canada’s fish populations and restoring the health of Canada’s oceans for the benefit of all who rely on them. Under his leadership, Oceana Canada has successfully advocated to reform Canada’s Fisheries Act to include a legal mandate to rebuild depleted fish populations, ban the import and export of shark fins, and increase transparency in fisheries management.

 Working with government, First Nations and other strategic partners, when necessary, Oceana Canada has helped to secure a world-leading, federal ban on single-use plastics that will remove 33 billion plastic items from Canada’s waste stream every year and, through at-sea science expeditions, has helped protect vital ocean habitats like corals and seamounts.

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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CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS

Stop Plastic Pollution

Restore Capelin Abundance

Protect North Atlantic Right Whales

Rebuild Ocean Abundance

Protect Marine Habitat

Contact

Oceana Canada Headquarters
18 King Street East, Suite 505
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1C4

Phone: +1 (416) 583-2350
Email: info@oceana.ca

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Land Acknowledgement

Oceana Canada operates in many regions across Canada. From coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations communities that call this land home, and we strive for our work to be done in a spirit of collaboration and reconciliation.

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