Proceedings 2015/015

Proceedings for the regional peer review of the Anguniaqvia Niqiqyuam Area of Interest: monitoring indicators, protocols and strategies; February 19-21, 2014

Chairpersons: Kevin Hedges and Oksana Schimnowski
Editor: Vanessa Grandmaison

Summary

Darnley Bay is located in the western Canadian Arctic within the Beaufort Sea Large Ocean Management Area and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.  Four priority areas were identified for marine protection in Darnley Bay, by Fisheries and Ocean Canada (DFO) Science Sector. In 2010, under the Oceans Act, DFO Oceans program and the Marine Protected Area (MPA) steering committee nominated an Area of Interest (AOI) in Darnley Bay, referred to as the Anguniaqvia Niqiqyuam Area of Interest (ANAOI). A regional science advisory meeting was held February 19-21, 2014 at the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg, MB, and focused on one of the four priority areas in the ANAOI, referred to as the Cape Parry Offshore Marine Feeding Habitat. The main objective of this meeting was to develop indicators, protocols and strategies that are appropriate for evaluating the Cape Parry Conservation Objective (CO): “to maintain the integrity of the marine environment offshore of the Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS) so that it is productive and allows for high trophic level feeding by ensuring that the Cape Parry polynyas and associated sea-ice habitat, and the role of key prey species (e.g., Arctic Cod; Boreogadus saida), are not disrupted by human activities” (DFO 2011). In addition to the main meeting objective, participants also assessed data availability for each indicator, and if the data could be used to provide baseline information to evaluate the success of the CO. A main working paper and a series of presentations/case studies provided information on indicators and protocols for monitoring the Cape Parry priority area. This meeting was conducted at the request of the Oceans Program and is part of Canada’s ongoing commitment to building a national network of Marine Protected Areas.

As a result of the science advisory meeting, a series of indicators and associated monitoring protocols and strategies were developed for the ANAOI. This meeting included input from experts from DFO Science and Oceans programs, the University of Manitoba, the Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC), and Paulatuk community members. These proceedings summarize the meeting discussions. Additional publications from this process will be posted on the DFO Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat website as they become available.

Complete document (PDF, 181 KB)

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.