Science Advisory Report  2011/009

Identification of Conservation Objectives and Boundary Delineation for the Darnley Bay Area of Interest (AOI)

Summary

• The scope of the exercise included Darnley Bay and a portion of Amundsen Gulf. Although the focus was aquatic marine ecosystems, consideration was also given to seabirds, sea ducks and Polar Bears.
• Four areas were identified for marine protection, and conservation objectives (COs) developed for each, in the following order of priority.
• Darnley Bay Nearshore Migration and Feeding Corridor to ensure the quality and quantity of nearshore habitat and estuaries, including overwintering channels and freshwater inputs, for Arctic Char.
• Cape Parry Offshore Marine Feeding Habitat to maintain the integrity of the marine environment offshore of Cape Parry for the protection of staging sea ducks and feeding seabirds and marine mammals.
• Darnley Bay Offshore Ice-edge Habitat to maintain the integrity of the Amundsen Gulf polynya and ice-edge ecosystem offshore of Darnley Bay for the protection of biological productivity and feeding habitat.
• Kelp Beds to maintain the integrity of kelp bed communities in Argo and Wise bays and elsewhere in Darnley Bay.
• Belugas, Arctic Cod, Bearded Seals, Ivory Gulls and Polar Bears appear to play an important role in the Darnley Bay region and may benefit from protection of one or more of the priority areas.
• The science advice in this report is largely based on expert opinion as there is limited scientific knowledge available for the Darnley Bay area. There is likely more detailed local knowledge that should be considered by DFO Oceans in developing an MPA in the area.

This Science Advisory Report is from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, regional advisory meeting of December 8, 2010 on the Identification of Conservation Objectives and Boundary Delineation for the Darnley Bay Area of Interest.  Additional publications from this process will be posted as they become available on the DFO Science Advisory Schedule.

Complete document (PDF, 521 KB)

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