Canada appears poised to sign international Arctic fish deal

Canada appears poised to sign an international agreement to block commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean until more is known about the potential of the resource.

A source close to the negotiations told The Canadian Press that the deal is to be signed next Thursday in Oslo.

A Fisheries and Oceans spokeswoman confirmed that Canada will be in Norway next week.

"We can confirm that we are planning to attend a meeting in Norway with other Arctic Ocean coastal states to discuss further measures against unregulated high-seas fishing in the central Arctic Ocean," Carole Saindon wrote in an email.

"Details of the results of those discussions will be released at the conclusion of the meeting."

Canada, the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway reached an interim agreement in February 2014 to work toward protecting Arctic waters beyond the 200-kilometre territorial limit of their respective shores, an area the size of the Mediterranean Sea.

"The participants recognized the need for interim precautionary measures to prevent any future commercial fisheries without the prior establishment of appropriate regulatory mechanisms," the countries said in a news release.

Final signing expected

The final signing of that agreement has been expected, said Michael Byers, an international law expert at the University of British Columbia.

"The signing has been planned for some time, and postponed for the last year or so because of (events in) Ukraine," he wrote. "I ... have been expecting something this summer."

Russia announced in June that it was ready to sign the deal.

The waters in question are beyond the jurisdiction of the five signatory states. They have acknowledged the need to bring the rest of the world especially major fishing nations such as China, Japan, South Korea and the European Union countries on board with the moratorium.

There is currently no commercial fishing in the central Arctic. But recent research has found more than 800 commercial species are moving poleward at up to 26 kilometres a year. The effect is especially pronounced in the Arctic.

As much as 40 per cent of the central Arctic Ocean has been ice-free during recent summers, making industrial fishing viable for the first time.

Last year, the Canadian government announced a ban on new commercial fisheries in territorial waters in the western Arctic until more research can be done. New commercial fisheries in the Beaufort Sea will only be considered after research has shown surplus and sustainable stocks. Local Inuvialuit are to get first dibs on any new licences.

The U.S. has made similar moves on its part of the Beaufort.

In 2012, more than 2,000 scientists from 67 countries including 551 from Canada called for a moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic until more research can be completed. They said such activities should be prohibited until there's a better understanding of the area and sustainable fishing quotas can be set.