Whale protection or economic gain?

SARA stands for The Species at Risk Act.  SARA is an environmental bill that was created in 2002 that provides out legal guidelines to the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council.  It is represented by the Minister of the Environment, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Minister responsible for Parks Canada and the ministers accountable for the provincial government of BC. The role of the council is to create recovery strategies and implement the plans by coordinating the various government agencies to ensure the continuity of the species at risk.[1] The Humpback whales have recently been taken off the threatened species list. Pipeline projects have had financial importance for Canadians. The concerns of the Cascadia coastal region have led to potential conspiracies regarding the conditional approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline and the convenient timing of the Humpback whales being taken off the threatened species list.  This has led to questioning from the scientific, environmental committees and individuals if the process of enlisting an animal into SARA is being taken seriously. More statements are being raised about how weak our environmental protection laws really are. ’[2].   

On June 2003, the Species at Risk Act established Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as an advisory body to the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council.  The COSEWIC are in charge of assessing and making recommendations for animals to be placed in categories that state if a species are of a low (least concern) or of a higher concern category (threatened or endangered).[3] COSEWIC is made up of 31 members, and they include a member from all the provinces and territories and four federal agencies. These include the Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.  Other members that must be chaired are the Species Specialist Subcommittees (SSCs) and Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee (ATK), and all the members are specialists[4] the field of environmental research.   

The methodology used in assessing Canadian wildlife includes the environmental reporters that have been contracted to contact Species Specialist Subcommittees (SSCs), Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee (ATK). ATK assists with traditional knowledge of the land to accurately find where species are, and then fill out reports for COSEWIC. The reports must include: wildlife species occurrence, wildlife species distribution, population size, Information related to observed changes in biology and/or population size, potential threats, existing management plans, harvesting restrictions, and Aboriginal name and dialect. Species Specialist Subcommittees (SSCs) are members who have much education in environmental studies that can properly identify species in order to make a correct assessment on the animal’s risk factors.[5] COSEWIC’s use of subcommittees ensures that more people are working to obtain the all the information needed to make an assessment. Furthermore, report writers then must contact one of the government members on the COSEWIC committee to review and assess the credibility of the research. In the case of the Northern Pacific Humpback Whale, the researcher would need to contact a Federal body such as Fisheries and Oceans.  However, if a Humpback whale is in the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, then Parks Canada can be contacted. Once the research has been reviewed, all voting constituents discuss the findings and vote on the status of the species.[6]          

Fishers and Oceans Canada lead the recovery strategy for the humpback whale in cooperation and partnership with many organizations. Fisheries and oceans are the competent ministers for aquatic species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is the Honorable Gail Shea, member of the Conservative Party of Canada.[7] The Conservative Party of Canada is recognized for placing the economy above the continuity of our natural environment, and critics point out, to environmental budgets being slashed because it interferes with Canada’s oil industry.[8]  

The North Pacific Humpback Whale population has gone up considerably, in the end of the commercial whaling industry the population went down from 30,000 to just 1500. Today the North Pacific Humpback Whale population has jumped back to an estimated population between 6000, to 8000.

 “In 2003, North Pacific Humpback Whale population status was assessed as Threatened by COSEWIC, and in 2005 the population was listed as Threatened under SARA. The population was re-assessed as Special Concern in 2011 by COSEWIC and this assessment was confirmed in 2013.“ [9]    

The recovery of the North Pacific Humpback Whale has come as a surprise, considering that many species has been dying off.  With proper management through SARA and adjacent organizations and committees, the Humpback has made a comeback.  In 2014, the North Pacific Humpback was placed onto the “Special Concern” section in the species at risk act.[10]

The committees that reinstated the Humpback whale under special concern in the SARA were instantly criticized because of what they seen as convenient timing of the Northern gateway pipeline. The conditional approval through the Federal government's reinstatement of the Humpback Whale. The Enbridge pipeline hopes to transport diluted bitumen from the Alberta Oil Sands, to the west coast of British Columbia in the town of Kitimat where it would be shipped overseas to Asian markets. Conditional Approval of the Pipeline happened on June 17th. In April,[11] a few environmentalists lashed out when the Humpback was re-assessed as Special concern. Scott Wallace, senior research scientist for the David Suzuki Foundation, spoke against the reinstatement of the Humpback Whale. He stated that they changed the status of the Humpback within a matter of months, and said that it was because of the oil industry. Wallace was misleading because  COSEWIC completed an assessment on the North Pacific Humpback whale back in 2011, and it was not until April of 2014 that the Humpback Whales was officially reinstated from threatened to special concern. However, the Protection that SARA gives to species could be increased. 

David Suzuki is famous for his show, The Nature of Things on Canadian Broadcasters Associations television channel, he is also a published author[12] and maintains that SARA has many holes. Suzuki states, if the species could have an adverse economic then the animal will go back to the scientific community of COSEWIC for further review.  He purports the plight of the polar bear as an example, as it has been recommended to be on the endangered species list five times yet they keep on postponing the decision. They continue to ask for more studies. For a qualitative argument against SARA, Suzuki states   “only 445 out of 551 species identified as at risk by COSEWIC have been listed.” David explains how SARA laws only apply to Federal government land such as post offices, national parks, airports and RCMP detachments.  However offers no protection to land that is in provincial jurisdiction.  Proper qualitative and quantitative research show what top environmental scientists such as David Suzuki are saying about the political or environmental recovery for either the whale or industry.  Projections show this will provide a strong academic of the situation and can see how his high academic quality can hold up to various news sources. It is also important to assess the environmental committee that are involved with advising Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council.[13]

   

The Humpback whale population should come as a surprise and should be celebrated, with careful examination of the population by COSEWIC in 2011, and its status change in SARA was warranted.  It is easy to dismiss claims that the whales removal from the threatened species was due to the Enbridge Pipeline project.  David Suzuki and his associate Scott Wallace do both address concerns about how long it takes for a species to have a comprehensive study done, and how COSEWIC reviews are not always taken seriously. David Suzuki backs this with quantitative evidence showing how our native animals are not the top priority and how the laws in animal protection need to be strengthened. David Suzuki is a watchdog for COSEWIC and it is his job to be critical of environmental laws, so it is natural for the economic driven conservative government that slashes funding for environmental groups, to be in conflict with environmental groups.

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Bibliography

“COSEWIC, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Contact Us.” 2014a. Accessed November 22. <http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct0/status_change_e.cfm.>

COSEWIC. 2014b. Accessed November 23.< http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct6/sct6_4_e.cfm.>

“David Suzuki | David Suzuki Foundation.” 2014. Accessed November 27. <http://www.davidsuzuki.org/david/.<

“Instructions for the Preparation of COSEWIC Status Reports.” 2014. Accessed November 23. <http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/htmldocuments/Instructions_e.htm.>

“NetNewsledger.com - If We Really Cared about Endangered Species - David Suzuki.” 2014. Accessed October 23. <http://www.netnewsledger.com/2014/03/12/if-we-really-cared-about-endangered-species-david-suzuki/.>

“Northern Gateway Pipeline Approved with 209 Conditions - Politics - CBC News.” 2014. Accessed September 25. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/northern-gateway-pipeline-approved-with-209-conditions-1.2678285.>

“Our Take: Timing of Whale Decision Seems Very Convenient - Cowichan News Leader Pictorial.” 2014. Accessed October 23. <http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/opinion/256628961.html.>

“Sierra Club BC.” 2014. Accessed October 23. <http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/search?Subject:list=species at risk.>

“Species at Risk Act.” 2013, March. <http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-15.3/page-2.html#docCont.>

“Species Profile (Humpback Whale) - Species at Risk Public Registry.” 2011, April. <http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=148.>

“The Honourable Gail Shea | Prime Minister of Canada.” 2013, September. <http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister/honourable-gail-shea.>

“Why Are These Humpback Whale Conservationists Applauding the Harper Government? | Metro.” 2014. Accessed November 23. <http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1014647/why-are-these-humpback-whale-conservationists-applauding-the-harper-government/.>

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[1] (“Species at Risk Act” 2013)

[2] (“Our take: Timing of whale decision seems very convenient - Cowichan News Leader Pictorial,” 2014.)

[3] (“COSEWIC, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Contact Us” 2014a)

[4] (“COSEWIC, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, About” 2014b)

[5] (“Instructions for the Preparation of COSEWIC Status Reports” 2014)

[6] (“Why Are These Humpback Whale Conservationists Applauding the Harper Government?,  Metro” 2014)

[7] (“The Honourable Gail Shea, Prime Minister of Canada” 2013)

[8] (“Sierra Club BC” 2014)

[9] (“Species Profile (Humpback Whale) - Species at Risk Public Registry” 2011)

[10] (“Species Profile (Humpback Whale) - Species at Risk Public Registry” 2011)

[11] (“Northern Gateway Pipeline Approved with 209 Conditions, Politics , CBC News” 2014)

[12] (“David Suzuki, David Suzuki Foundation” 2014)

[13] (“NetNewsledger.com, If we really cared about endangered species - David Suzuki,” 2014)