Another examination of DFO: David Suzuki Foundation Report

Also mentioned in Tyee Bridge's article on DFO management is this article by the David Suzuki Foundation. The backgrounder link copied below gives a short, but concise criticism of DFO.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/files/Oceans/DFO_Backgrounder.pdf


"An assessment of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific region’s effectiveness in meeting its mandate"

The Press Release for the 2005 Report states alot of the very same concerns we harp on about year after year. The full Report is well worth reading.
The report lays bare DFO’s steady decline in effectiveness over the past several decades, describing a complex bureaucracy that is unable to live up to its mandate to protect fish stocks and the marine environment. Key challenges within DFO include:

· Unwelcome political interference, in particular, the promotion of aquaculture, directly contradict DFO’s responsibility to protect wild fisheries;

· An overly complex and dilapidated bureaucracy sees an ineffectual "universe of only partially-responsible departments";

· An inadequate budget, and misallocation of existing funds.

"West Coast fish stocks are in deep trouble, and the world is watching how Canada manages its imperiled salmon runs," says Mr. Wareham. He points to a recent article in the Economist, which suggests that DFO is in "denial" about its failings, and hints that B.C.’s wild salmon stocks "seem to be swimming towards the same fate" of the east coast cod fishery.