Science Response 2019/028

Evaluation of Existing Frameworks and Recommendations for Identifying Significant Benthic Areas in the Pacific Region

Context

Benthic ecosystems are diverse, providing habitat and supporting food webs for a wide range of species. They are an important source of biodiversity and a vital part of Canada’s ocean environments. In addition to their biological role, they are important from a social, cultural and economic perspective (e.g. supporting fisheries, recreation opportunities) in the lives of many Canadians.

Under the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA^{Footnote 1}) Resolution 61/105 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [UNFAO], 2009), Canada is committed to protecting sensitive marine habitats. In response, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) developed the Policy for Managing the Impacts of Fishing on Sensitive Benthic Area (SeBA) (Government of Canada [GOC] 2009) to directly manage fisheries within Sensitive Benthic Areas. The SeBA policy is designed to mitigate the impacts of fishing on benthic ecosystems (or avoid impacts likely to cause serious and/or irreversible harm). This policy is housed within the DFO Sustainable Fisheries Framework (SFF) as one of its conservation and sustainable use policies. SeBAs can also be considered an ‘Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure’ (OEABCM); a term used to encompass area-based conservation measures other than marine protected areas that meet certain criteria (DFO 2017a).

The first step towards establishing SeBAs is to identify Significant Benthic Areas (SiBAs). A SiBA is defined as an ecologically and biologically significant habitat type, feature, community or species considered intrinsically sensitive to fishing impacts and slow to recover (e.g. coral and sponge dominated habitats). These aspects of vulnerability (sensitivity and ability to recover) can be assessed through consideration of life history characteristics, recovery times, and other relevant factors (e.g. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Guidelines to Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME)). The second step in establishing SeBAs involves assessing exposure of SiBAs to fishing.  The SiBAs, or portions thereof, that are likely to be exposed to proposed or ongoing fishing activities, are then considered SeBAs.

It is important to note that there has been confusion in past literature regarding the use of the terms Significant Benthic Areas and Sensitive Benthic Areas. To clearly differentiate these terms we have refrained from using the acronym SBA, and have chosen unique acronyms for each term; in this paper Significant Benthic Areas will be referred to as SiBAs, and Sensitive Benthic Areas as SeBAs.

DFO Fisheries Management (FM) requested advice from the DFO Science Branch to evaluate existing DFO frameworks that may be useful for identifying Significant Benthic Areas (SiBAs) in the Pacific region, and to summarize the best available data that can be used to identify those areas in the Strait of Georgia (SoG) and Southern Shelf Bioregion (SSB)(Figure 1).

The assessment and advice arising from this Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Science Response Process (SRP) will be used to inform decisions regarding fisheries management and to lay the foundation for future work to identify SiBAs. The establishment of fisheries closures to minimize/avoid impacts on SeBAs is also expected to contribute to Canada's Marine Conservation Target^{Footnote 2} to protect 10% of Canada's coast by 2020.

Here we evaluate and outline the best approach for determining which benthic habitat types, features, communities and species qualify as SiBAs (step 1 above). Specifically, this Science Response (SR) will:

1. Evaluate existing frameworks that may be useful for identifying ecologically and biologically Significant Benthic Areas (SiBAs). Provide rationale and supporting evidence as to which one(s) would be most appropriate for identifying future SiBAs.
2. Based on the outputs of the framework, present potential SiBAs identified in the SoG and SSB.
3. Using the best available information, present existing species and habitat data in the SoG and SSB, for use in the identification of SiBAs.
4. Assess data gaps, uncertainties and/or assumptions used to inform the current findings and recommendations; identify future science work, where applicable.

This Science Response results from the Science Response Process of July 11, 2018 on the Evaluation of Existing Frameworks to identify Significant Benthic Areas in the Strait of Georgia and Southern Shelf Bioregions.

Complete document (PDF, 735 KB)

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