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Eastwaters The Marine website of Newfoundland and Labrador
The DFO: watchdog of our waters
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Canada being one of the world's foremost maritime nations in terms of coastline, freshwaters and islands, the federal government's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO, also known as Fisheries and Oceans Canada) oversees much that happens in and around our waters. It is a big job in a country with a huge geography and relatively small population.
Nationally, the DFO is responsible for marine safety, fisheries management and conservation, protection of ocean environments and habitats, scientific research, maritime trade, commerce and ocean development. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the department has branches of all its divisions with a total of 1,670 men and women working actively in these fields.
The most noticeable is the Canadian Coast Guard, whose red-hulled ships and boats are familiar sights in the province's waters. The fleet operates from a depot on the south side of St. John's harbour. The Coast Guard is responsible for search and rescue, marine communications and ship traffic services, aids to navigation, navigable waters protection, environmental response, icebreaking, and boating safety.
As its name implies, the Fisheries Management Branch oversees management, conservation and protection of salt- and freshwater fisheries in this region. The province's vast and varied geography creates complexities in regulating harvests of the 40 species that are caught domestically. Then there are international issues such as migratory stocks and boundaries with the French islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon off the southern coast. The branch enforces regulations in offshore and domestic commercial fisheries, and in the inland sportfishing of salmon and trout. Commercial fishing of Atlantic salmon has been banned for some years.
The Science, Oceans and Environment Branch (SOE) is a multi-divisional group within the DFO in Newfoundland. The branch's mission is to provide the scientific support for conservation, protection and sustainable use of water resources. It covers an area from the Cabot Strait east to the Flemish Cap, and north to Davis Strait between Baffin Island and Greenland. The SOE operates the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre in the White Hills section of St. John's, which is also regional headquarters for the DFO in the province. In this complex are extensive aquaria, laboratories and various specialized facilities, including support for other divisions.
The SOE has four research divisions: Aquatic Resources with various sections covering harvestable marine resources; Marine Environment and Habitat Management; Oceans Programs with sections responsible for the Oceans Act, environmental sciences and aquaculture; and Hydrography which is home to the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), surveyors and producers of nautical charts. The SOE also manages the DFO's regional library.
Still another responsibility of the DFO are the federally owned Small Craft Harbours. In this province, these consisted of 396 commercial fishing harbours and two recreational harbours as of January, 2001. Of the former, 186 are managed by 148 local harbour authorities. The two recreational harbours and inactive fishing harbours are to be divested from the federal system, with most being offered to local community governments. (If there is no interest from non-commercial groups, facilities may be sold by tender to private operators.)
Heading Fisheries and Oceans operations in the Newfoundland and Labrador region is Joe Price.
Links to some of the agencies listed above:
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (national)
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Newfoundland)
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