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The high cost of marine fuel in British Columbia, Canada, is helping to protect an endangered species which has seen its population decrease quite dramatically over the last few years.

The longspine thornyhead, or idiotfish - nicknamed by fishermen for its gawky, bulbous eyes - became a target of deep-sea trawlers approximately eight years ago. Since then, the population off the Pacific coast has been in decline, dropping by approximately 50 per cent, according to Bill Wareham of the David Suzuki Foundation.

High bunker prices have kept large numbers of British Columbia's deep sea trawlers closer to shore, giving the idiotfish a momentary reprieve. However, the David Suziki Foundation insists the federal government must still impose an immediate interim closure of the fishery to ensure the idiotfish and its sensitive habitat are protected.

“This is the most unsustainable fishery in Canada’s Pacific waters under any scientific criteria. It targets a species at risk, and takes place in sensitive deep-water habitats,” said Wareham. “This fishery is akin to a mining operation for precious metals, scouring miles of precious habitat for little fleshy nuggets.”

The Foundation wants the fishery closed until Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) implements a management plan to rebuild the population and protect its habitat, and develops a transparent public-advisory process to oversee the fishery.

The David Suzuki Foundation asked the DFO in March for an interim coast-wide bottom-trawl closure in all waters deeper than 600 metres, but attempts to deal directly with government and industry on reforming the fishery have not resulted in any progress, the Foundation said in a statement.

In August 2007, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) officially listed the longspine thornyhead as a species of special concern. Later this year the federal government will decide whether to legally list it under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.