Canada's Pacific groundfish trawl habitat agreement: A global first in an ecosystem approach to bottom trawl impacts

The impact of bottom trawling to seafloor habitat has been one of the major marine conservation issues over the last two decades. This paper describes the pre-conditions, process, and the first two years of results of a precedent setting ecosystem based management plan to address the habitat impacts of bottom trawling in Canada’s Pacific waters. In British Columbia, Canada, industry and conservation organizations worked collaboratively over a period of three years outside of government to develop measures which formally took effect on April 2, 2012. The measures include four main components: (1) ecosystem based trawling boundaries; (2) the world's first habitat quota; (3) an encounter protocol; and (4) formation of a habitat review committee. It is demonstrated that measures implemented have resulted in reduced impacts to sensitive benthic habitat features such as coral and sponge complexes. It is concluded that the conditions required to produce this agreement are not unique to British Columbia, yet that the potential to develop a similar agreement and management reform elsewhere does require a unique set of conditions involving seafood markets, an effective ENGO sector, a strong regulatory environment, intra-industry cooperation, and the proper incentives.