Terms of Reference

Review of the Western and Emerald Banks Conservation Area Monitoring

Regional Peer Review - Maritimes Region

February 4-5, 2025

Dartmouth, NS

Chairperson: Tana Worcester

Context

The Western and Emerald Banks Conservation Area (WEBCA) was originally established as a fisheries closure in 1987. The combination of a large bank area, high habitat heterogeneity, and a large partial gyre has resulted in an area of high representativity with relatively high species richness and abundance. The area has also been recognized as important habitat for a variety of regionally significant species. WEBCA is closed to all bottom-contact fishing gear. A monitoring plan is a required for marine refuges including WEBCA to direct efforts to help measure and evaluate the established conservations objectives. This forthcoming plan will be developed in collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and other researchers, organizations, and partners including the Mi’kmaq. Region-wide surveys have been the primary contribution to monitoring activity to date. As the DFO conservation network continues to develop in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion, site-level monitoring programs for WEBCA will be integrated into a monitoring program that will align with the broader requirements of the regional network at various spatial scales.

The conservation objectives for WEBCA are:

• Protect continental shelf habitats and associated benthic and demersal communities.
• Support productivity objectives for groundfish species of Aboriginal, commercial, and/or recreational importance, particularly North Atlantic Fisheries Organization Division 4VW haddock.
• Protect benthic habitats that support juvenile and adult haddock and other groundfish species.

Objectives

The questions this process will aim to answer are:

1. Based on the conservation objectives, what is a suitable suite of indicators for monitoring the effectiveness of WEBCA?
2. What is the available information about the ecological features of the site?
3. What are the key existing sampling platforms supporting site-specific monitoring activities over the long-term and what would be efficient and effective ways to fill information gaps?
4. How could WEBCA monitoring program and associated indicators be integrated into a regional conservation network monitoring program, as well as integrated into shelf-wide ecosystem-based reporting?

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• DFO Science
• DFO Ecosystem Management
• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Nova Scotia Provincial Representatives
• Aboriginal communities / organizations
• Non-Government Organizations
• Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association
• Cape Breton University
• Dalhousie University
• Ocean Tracking Network