As the Nova Scotia government explores the potential for a commercial jellyfish fishery to feed the ravenous Chinese seafood market, some environmental advocates are raising alarms about the idea.
The Canadian Sea Turtle Network fears the impact of a potential jellyfish fishery on the endangered leatherback turtle. Hundreds of the federally protected turtles spend June to October in waters off Atlantic Canada eating their own weight in jellyfish daily.
"What we need them upfront to understand is the turtles are here, that we are a critically important space for these animals internationally and it's our duty to conserve them and we have federal legislation to support that," said Canadian Sea Turtle Network executive director Kathleen Martin.
Kathleen Martin is the executive director of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network. (CBC)
"There has not been a lot of track record pulling back when something becomes economically successful."
Word that the Chinese are interested in our jellyfish came from Scott Hoskings, the director of business development for the province's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
Demand 'should be chilling to us'
Earlier this month, Hoskings told a legislature committee a provincial delegation was approached during a trade mission to China this fall.
"The Chinese have no jellyfish left so they are looking to us to explore, is it a possibility for here," Hoskings said.
A display of types of jellyfish in a display tank at the Shippagan Aquarium in Shippagan, N.B., on February 23, 2017. (Diane Doiron/Canadian Press)
That set off alarm bells for Martin and the Canadian Sea Turtle Network.
"China is a huge market. The idea they have fished out other sources for jellyfish, that they have to look other places to provide them, should be chilling to us. It's not sustainable, clearly. If it were, they would not have to do that," Martin said.
Endangered species
In Canada, the gentle giants, which measure 1.5 metres and weigh on average about 400 kilograms, are listed as a species at risk and are entitled to protections that prevent killing or harming them or damaging their habitat.
About 1,000 are thought to visit Atlantic Canada each year, travelling thousands of kilometres from South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible both for approving and regulating any new commercial fishery and for protecting the leatherback turtle.
The department said no one was available for an interview with CBC News on the issue.
Popular food in China
Hoskings said the province is trying to determine how much jellyfish is off the coast and whether the varieties would suit the Chinese market.
The Chinese appetite for Nova Scotia has exploded along with the population of its middle class.
Chinese companies have bought several processing plants in recent years and the country is now the second largest consumer of Nova Scotia lobster.
A bag of jellyfish. (CBC)
Environmentalist Susanna Fuller, of the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, predicts the Asian market will scoop up most of the seafood the region produces.
Keeping the fishery sustainable will require protecting the entire ocean ecosystem, she said.
"When we start to fish the jellyfish, that's the bottom, bottom of the food chain," said Fuller.
"I really think before any of that discussion happens and a new fishery starts to be developed, we need to flip the switch in Canada and have an ecosystem approach to fisheries management that takes into account what does the ocean need to continue to thrive."
