Canada is to join more than a dozen countries Wednesday in signing a deal that would block commercial fishing in the High Arctic for 16 years and begin unravelling ecological mysteries at the top of the world. The deal is to be signed in Ilulissat, Greenland, by the five nations with Arctic coastlines. As well as a commercial fishing ban, the agreement commits the countries to major scientific work on the entire ecosystem of a region that climate change is making increasingly accessible. No commercial fishing currently takes place in the High Arctic, but fish stocks are shifting and fishers and scientists have wondered what the northernmost seas on the planet hold. "Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to working globally to build strong partnerships to address the issue of unregulated fishing," wrote Vance Chow.

Source: CBC News October 02, 2018 20:03 UTC