Protection of the marine environment under the Canada-Quebec Collaborative Agreement

Projects under study

The following 2 projects are currently under study:

• Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence project
• St. Lawrence Estuary project

These projects are the result of analyses of important biological components (such as the presence of species at risk, feeding areas, fragile ecosystems, and breeding areas) in view of the conservation priorities determined by the governments. Furthermore, the projects take into account the representativeness of the different habitat types found in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Work plan

In the spring and summer of 2019, the 2 projects were presented to Indigenous groups and relevant stakeholders.

In the coming months, conservation measures will be developed for each project and discussed with Indigenous groups and relevant stakeholders. Consultation on each project will then follow.

Steps completed

For further information contact us at:

Email: Oceans-QC@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Phone: 1 877 775-0848

Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Conservation priorities

Increase the protection of cold-water corals and sponges and the ecosystems that support them by regulating all activities that may have an impact on the seabed in 8 of the 11 marine refuges established in December 2017.

Cold-water corals and sponges are fragile species that recover slowly when disturbed. As they grow, many of these species create complex structures that provide areas of refuge, food and growth for many other marine species, thus promoting high biodiversity.

Areas under study

The following 8 areas were selected taking into account the representativeness of habitats:

Activities to be examined

The impacts of fishing activities on corals and sponges were examined in 2016 and 2017, which led to a ban on bottom-contact fishing gear in the marine refuges, i.e. bottom trawl, dredge, bottom seine, traps, bottom longline and gillnet. The ban on the use of such fishing gear will also be in effect in the marine protected area.

Following the adoption of protection standards for marine protected areas by the Government of Canada in April, 2019, additional activities will be automatically prohibited in the marine protected area. These activities are:

• Oil and gas exploration and exploitation
• Mining exploration and development
• Dumping

The following activity is also intended to be prohibited:

• Commercial or industrial production of electricity

Other human activities that may impact corals and sponges and the seabed will be evaluated. If they pose a risk to the achievement of the areas conservation objectives, they will be prohibited in the marine protected area. This includes:

• Installation and maintenance of bottom contact structures
• Anchoring of vessels
• Scientific research

The management of these activities will protect the fragile structure of corals and sponges and may also contribute to indirectly protecting fish and invertebrate species that use this habitat.

St. Lawrence Estuary

Conservation priorities

Protecting marine mammals at risk, their prey and habitats, as well as fish species in a precarious situation and their habitats:

• Marine mammals at risk
  • Beluga whale
  • Blue whale
  • Fin whale
• Prey species of marine mammals at risk
  • Zooplankton: krill
  • Fish: Atlantic herring, capelin, rainbow smelt, sand lance
• Fish species in a precarious situation
  • Striped bass
  • American shad
  • Lake sturgeon
  • Atlantic sturgeon

Areas under study

In order to meet these conservation priorities, 7 areas are being studied as part of the marine protected area project in the St. Lawrence Estuary:

Activities to be examined

The study area has a rich biodiversity to protect and also supports multiple human activities. Human activities that may harm marine mammals at risk and fish species in a precarious situation, impact their prey or alter their habitat will be examined, including:

• Marine transportation and pleasure boating
• At-sea observation activities
• Fishing (primarily that which may have an impact on marine mammals at risk, prey species and habitat)
• Development activities, such as maritime terminal construction and dredging
• Scientific research

The conservation measures required to manage these human activities will be specific to the conservation priorities of each area and will be harmonized with those of the existing marine protected areas in the region - the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park and the réserve aquatique projetée de Manicouagan. If federal marine protected area status is given to some, or all of the study areas, the protection standards for marine protected areas will apply.

Resources

Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence project

• Coral & Sponge Conservation Strategy for Eastern Canada 2015
• Delineation of Significant Areas of Coldwater Corals and Sponge-Dominated Communities in Canada's Atlantic and Eastern Arctic Marine Waters and their Overlap with Fishing Activity (CSAS SAR - 2017/007)
• Occurrence, sensitivity to fishing, and ecological function of corals, sponges, and hydrothermal vents in Canadian waters (CSAS SAR - 2010/041)

St. Lawrence Estuary project

The Species at risk public registry provides access to several other relevant documents, such as recovery strategies or management plans for species at risk targeted by the estuary project.

Marine mammals at risk

• Proceedings from a scientific workshop on marine mammals, their habitats and food resources, held in Mont-Joli (Quebec) from April 3 to 7, 2000, within the context of the St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area project

Beluga

• Advice relevant to the identification of critical habitat for St. Lawrence beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) (CSAS SAR - 2009/070) (2009)
• Identifying high residency areas of the threatened St. Lawrence beluga whale from fine-scale movements of individuals and coarse-scale movements of herds (2012)
• Ecosystem Research Initiative (ERI): Integrated Advice on the Summer Habitat of the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) (2016)
• An update of Beluga (Delphinaterus leucas) abundance and reported deaths in the St. Lawrence river Estuary (CSAS SAR - 2017/015)

Blue whale

• Identification of habitats important to the blue whale in the western North Atlantic (CSAS SAR - 2018/003)

Fin whale

• Decline un abundance and apparent survival rates of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (2019)
• Fin whale continuous frequentation of St. Lawrence habitats detected from multiyear passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) (CSAS ResDocs - 2018/059)

Fish at risk

Striped bass

• Assessment of Habitat Quality and Habitat Use by the Extirped Striped Bass Population (Morone saxatilis) of the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec (CSAS resdocs - 2010/052) (2010)
• Information in Support of Critical Habitat Identification for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) of the St. Lawrence River (CSAS SAR - 2017/001)

Rainbow smelt

• Localisation des frayères à éperlans arc-en-ciel de la rivière Saguenay : Rapport de fin de projet (1995-2003) (available in French only)

Prey species

Krill

• Ecosystem Research Initiative Advisory Report: Forage Species Responsible for the Presence of Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in the St. Lawrence Estuary (CSAS SAR - 2012/052)
• The spatial association of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) with krill patches (Thysanoessa spp. and Meganyctiphanes norvegica) in the estuary and northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence (CSAS ResDocs - 2016/104)

Capelin

• Ecologically and biologically significant areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence: small pelagic fishes (CSAS ResDocs - 2012/087)
• Capelin Observers Network

Atlantic Herring

• Émergences, aires de concentration et croissance des larves de hareng atlantique (Clupea harengus) dans l’estuaire moyen du Saint-Laurent (2017) (available in French only)