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Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area: Review of Ecological Monitoring Indicators

Regional Peer Review - Arctic Region

November 19-21, 2024

Inuvik, NT

Chairpersons: Jason Stow and Kayla Hansen-Craik

Context

The Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) was Canada’s first Arctic MPA and was established in 2010. The three sub-regions identified as part of the TNMPA were part of the Beluga Management Plan (FJMC 2013) Zone 1a areas and served as important habitat for Eastern Beaufort Sea Beluga in the summer months. These areas are also important for subsistence harvesting by Inuvialuit in the communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk. Inuvialuit leadership and community-level involvement are essential for the management and monitoring of the TNMPA.

The conservation objective for the TNMPA is: “to conserve and protect Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and other marine species (anadromous fishes, waterfowl and seabirds), their habitats and their supporting ecosystem.”

Unlike other MPAs put in place to mitigate stressors such as habitat loss or over exploitation of fisheries resources, the TNMPA establishment was pro-active in the anticipation of anthropogenic stressor impacts (e.g., oil and gas and climate change related impacts). There has been significant progress since the first Monitoring Plan was developed in 2013; programs have expanded to inform on different aspects of the coastal environment, trophic transfers, environment impacts, and new emerging stressors on important species such as beluga and anadromous fishes (DFO and FJMC 2013).

As a first review of the TNMPA Monitoring Plan, a qualitative review of all categories of indicators, including ecological, was conducted in 2018. It included MPA co-management partners (Fisheries and Oceans Canada [DFO], Fisheries Joint Management Committee [FJMC], Inuvialuit Game Council [IGC], and Hunter and Trappers Committees [HTCs]), and resulted in a number of recommendations as outlined in the State of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area Report: An Inventory of Monitoring from 2010–2016 (Brewster et al. 2021). Here, members from the three TNMPA HTCs identified a conservation priority to focus the Conservation Objective; the priority is: “to conserve beluga, and fish species important to Inuvialuit subsistence and prey of beluga, and their habitat within the TNMPA.”

Presently, DFO Marine Planning and Conservation (MPC) on behalf of the Beaufort Sea MPA governing organizations represented in the Western Arctic MPA Steering Committee (WAMPA) and the TNMPA Working Group, is requesting DFO Science Advice to review and analyse the existing and identified ecological indicators in the current TNMPA Monitoring Plan to update and adapt it for consideration by Inuvialuit co-managers and DFO MPC. The working paper will examine and present ecological indicator data collected since the establishment of the TNMPA (and where possible, utilize baseline data collected in advance of the MPA designation) in order to advise on the effectiveness of indicators being monitored, and if possible, data trends that help detect ecological change.

Objectives

The objectives of the peer review meeting are to:

  1. Conduct a trend analysis to interpret data collected for ecological indicators identified in the TNMPA Monitoring Plan (DFO and FJMC 2013), and make recommendations on establishing indicator thresholds, where possible, that could inform an adaptive management framework.
  2. Recommend the addition, removal, or revision of ecological indicators to the current TNMPA Monitoring Plan based on the analysis conducted in objective #1, an assessment of indicator effectiveness, and other relevant considerations to ensure indicators will inform the conservation objective of the MPA.

Expected Publications

Expected Participation

References

Notice

Participation to CSAS peer review meetings is by invitation only.

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