How far do we bend wildlife protection laws in Canada for commercial interests?
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has asked you to grant permission for commercial fishermen to continue to inflict incidental harm on two species of marine fish that have been listed as threatened in Canada. The northern wolffish and the spotted wolffish are caught as by-catch in various commercial fisheries in Atlantic Canada, and, barring your permission to continue catching them, harming either of these fish species or damaging their habitat is now legally prohibited in Canada under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Followed to the letter of the law, protecting these two fish species will unavoidably entail significant economic losses for the fishing industry. In June, 2004, as the legal requirement to protect these two threatened fish species came into full effect, a short paper was written by DFO advising you that continued harm inflicted by the fishing industry will not threaten the survival and recovery of northern and spotted wolffish. (DFO, 2004, Allowable h
