Impact stories

The impact DFO's partners have on marine conservation through the Oceans Management Contribution Program.

On this page

• Homarus Inc. – The science of sustainability
  • About Homarus Inc. (Homarus)
  • Understanding juvenile lobster habitat
  • More eyes on (and under) the water
• Mamalilikulla First Nation Guardians
  • About the Guardians
  • Path to protection
  • Collaboration and capacity building

Homarus Inc. – The science of sustainability

Homarus Inc. and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO): Working together to better understand the nursery grounds for Eastern Canada's lucrative lobster fishery.

About Homarus Inc. (Homarus)

In New Brunswick, the team at Homarus is diving into a research project that will give them a better understanding of the nursery grounds for American lobster, the most lucrative commercially fished species in Canada.

Homarus is the non-profit research arm of the Maritime Fishermen's Union (MFU), representing over 1,300 inshore fish harvesters in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Most members are lobster harvesters.

In 2022, total Atlantic lobster landings were worth $1.78 billion, and the total value of all Canadian commercial sea fisheries landings was $4.73 billion. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, the landed value of the lobster industry was $0.56 billion, or 11.8% of the value of all commercial sea fisheries landings. This is significant from an ecosystem perspective, considering this area represents less than 1% of Canada's oceans.

"It's a huge industry and economically important to our coastal communities. It's hard to imagine that such an inconspicuous-looking animal can have such an incredible impact," says Maryse Cousineau, Assistant Director of Homarus.

The lobster industry isn't only a significant player in the Atlantic Canadian economy, supporting a multitude of small businesses and spin-off jobs in coastal communities. It's also proven itself to be sustainable, thanks in part to the foresight of fish harvesters themselves.

The motivation for the creation of Homarus began in the late 1990s, when lobster landings were dwindling dramatically in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

While looking for ways to increase lobster stocks, Maritime Fishermen's Union members visited a lobster hatchery in Bar Harbor, Maine that looked like a promising solution. They returned home and created Homarus; its first project was a hatchery.

"The mission of Homarus is really doing science for our members, our fish harvesters, and being able to contribute to scientific knowledge about the ocean," says Cousineau. "We want to make sure that the fishery stays viable, and the livelihoods of our members are protected and that means ensuring a healthy ecosystem."

Since its establishment, Homarus has worked on various research projects that support the lobster industry. Their research also extends to other species, including Atlantic herring, Sea scallop and Rock crab, which are also important fisheries for MFU members.

Understanding juvenile lobster habitat

More recently, Homarus researchers have been working on how to support the juvenile phase of the lobster lifecycle when its size and frequent molting make it more vulnerable to predators.

Their first step, in collaboration with DFO through a project funded by the Oceans Management Contribution Program, is trying to get a better understanding of the lobster nursery grounds while also providing insight into herring spawning grounds.

With DFO's support, Homarus purchased and began using an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to collect data in 2 DFO marine refuges, Scallop Buffer Zones, Scallop Fishing Areas (SFA) 21 and 22. These refuges are found along the coastlines of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

These marine refuges protect juvenile lobsters and their habitat by prohibiting commercial scallop fishing. This type of fishing uses gear that drags along the ocean floor and disturbs sheltered areas that juvenile lobsters hide in when they are most vulnerable.

"We're monitoring these areas to see what they look like because there's not a lot of information on them and we're trying to fill in that knowledge gap," says Cousineau. "We want to understand these benthic^{Footnote 1} environments and then determine what we can do to nurture them and keep them healthy."

So far, the Homarus research team has installed 8 water-quality monitoring stations. They were created by equipping modified lobster traps with probes capable of measuring a number of parameters year-round, such as dissolved oxygen, temperature and acidity.

The project involves getting a better idea of what a healthy juvenile lobster ecosystem looks like, such as what other plant life and species live there.

For this reason, the research team is doing a series of underwater dives and taking video footage at strategic locations along the ocean floor, including filming inside and outside the buffer zones to compare the habitats of juvenile and adult lobsters.

As part of this collaborative project with DFO, Homarus is also developing a new interpretive exhibit and activities for the Homarus Centre in Shediac, New Brunswick to educate Canadians about the lobster lifecycle and habitat.

A diver herself, Cousineau is awed by the diversity of sea life she's seen so far. She's excited about how her team will use their new underwater footage to help educate the public.

"We're thinking about using 360-degree video to help people understand what's down there," says Cousineau. "Once you see the ecosystem, it can give you a sense of amazement and that makes you want to protect it. It can also be a good teaching tool to help people understand why certain areas are closed off to certain types of fishing."

More eyes on (and under) the water

DFO's marine refuges are an integral part of marine conservation in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. For DFO and Homarus, this strategic research partnership is instrumental in reaching the refuges' conservation goals.

After a marine refuge is recognized, DFO develops its management plan. These plans include monitoring, surveillance and enforcement approaches to support protection.

In the case of the marine refuges in the Scallop Buffer Zones, the research that Homarus is currently conducting will support the implementation of the ecological monitoring plan being developed by DFO.

"There are a lot of moving parts when you're managing a site, and to be able to have a partner, like Homarus who represents the fishing industry is really important in order to successfully accomplish our conservation objectives," says Krista MacKenzie, Senior Biologist, Marine Planning and Conservation, DFO, Gulf Region.

"In addition to their research expertise, they bring hands-on experience to the table. They've got a lot of eyes on the water and that makes them a really important partner to have. And, of course, working together, we can accomplish so much more."

Mamalilikulla First Nation Guardians

The Mamalilikulla (Mama-lee-lee-kalla) First Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are working together. We protect a unique and fragile marine ecosystem in Knight Inlet, British Columbia (BC).

About the Guardians

The Mamalilikulla First Nation are traditional stewards of the area that has recently been established as the Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala (Lull/Hoeya) marine refuge in Knight Inlet. The Mamalilikulla First Nation Guardians are now trained to help implement DFO's policies and procedures, but are guided first and foremost by their nation's ancient law of Aweenak'ola.

"When we say Aweenak'ola, we mean we are one with the land, the sea, the sky and the supernatural Ones," says Mamalilikulla Chief Councillor Winidi (John Powell). "The creatures of the water, the land, the sea and the sky and the heavens… all of those creatures, we have to nourish them. We have a duty to protect them; we have to make certain that we manage our territory so that it is conducive to housing them."

In recognition of the inlet's rare species, high biodiversity and cultural significance, the Mamalilikulla First Nation worked in close collaboration with the Province of BC and the Government of Canada to protect the area. The animals protected in the Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala (Lull/Hoeya) marine refuge are part of a diverse marine community. There are about 240 aquatic species, including 46 rare and fragile:

• cold-water corals
• sponges
• anemones

They live on the Hoeya Sill. This underwater ridge provides the unique aquatic conditions to host massive, tree-like Gorgonian corals. These corals provide habitat where countless other species can thrive.

The marine refuge is also home to important eelgrass and kelp beds, and 2 important intertidal estuaries. These estuaries play a vital role in the health of the ocean ecosystem. They support rare and endangered birds and culturally important grizzly bears.

The Hoeya Sill in the marine refuge is particularly remarkable because of the rising of deeper currents over the ridge. This allows species, normally restricted to deeper depths, to thrive at only 12 metres below the surface. The shallow waters make the ecosystem ideal for scientific study but also extremely susceptible to damage from bottom-contact fishing activities common in the area. This is especially true for fragile and slow-growing species, such as Gorgonian corals.

The marine refuge also includes significant inter-tidal archaeological features. These features:

• reflect its long occupation as a Mamalilikulla origin area
• include stone fish traps and weirs, and canoe runs associated with 3 ancient village sites

Path to protection

The Mamalilikulla territory supported a large population before European contact but declined to about 2,000 people in the 1840s to 1850s. A small number of Mamalilikulla still lived at Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala in 1914. In that year, the McKenna-McBride Commission was set up to consider additional land reserves and it turned down the Mamalilikulla's proposals for reserves in Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala.

As a result, the existing 400 registered members of the Mamalilikulla First Nation have not had direct connection to, nor resided in, their ancestral territory since the 1920s. However, recognizing the declining health of ecosystems in its territory, and in keeping with the law of Aweenak'ola, the Mamalilikulla founded a Guardian program in order to resume its presence and stewardship role.

With the advent of new international commitments to marine and land protection targets by Canada, and with the unique ecosystems and cultural sites in peril, the Nation publicly declared the area an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) on November 29, 2021.

DFO had already been aware of ongoing evidence of damage to the Hoeya Sill from multiple types of fishing gear. The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat and various Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations had documented the biodiversity of the site and Mamalilikulla and DFO had also proposed that the Hoeya Sill area be included in a new regional marine protected area network.

In 2022, further discussions expanded the proposal to incorporate Mamalilikulla's cultural conservation interests and more concrete action for protection.

In February 2023, during the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), this collaborative work culminated in the Government of Canada, Mamalilikulla First Nation and Province of BC announcement of a new marine refuge over the marine portion of the Mamalilikulla IPCA and a related fisheries closure to protect the site's significant ecosystems.

The announcement represented the first site designation from those proposed by a new marine protected area network in the Northern Shelf Bioregion, being collaboratively developed and implemented by First Nations, the Province of BC and Canada.

The Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala (Lull/Hoeya) marine refuge site, which is 21.4 km² (8.3 sq. mi), contributes towards Canada's total marine conservation goals of conserving 25% of marine and coastal areas by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

The Northern Shelf Bioregion is highly productive, and has unique ecological, oceanographic and seabed characteristics. The bioregion covers approximately 2/3 of the coast of BC, extending from the top of Vancouver Island, including Quadra Island and Bute Inlet, to the Canada–United States border at Alaska. Marine refuges are fisheries management measures, including closures under the Fisheries Act, that qualify as Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs).

These protection measures provide benefits for biodiversity and are intended to be in place for the long-term. They make a lasting contribution to marine conservation.

A marine protected area network is a collection of individually protected sites that, taken together, protect biodiversity and important ecological features in the ocean.

"The establishment of the Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala (Lull/Hoeya) marine refuge signified a key moment in providing protection and conservation to a very important ecosystem in our ocean. It also represents the collaboration that is required for true conservation," says Heather Brekke, Regional Manager, Marine Conservation, DFO.

Collaboration and capacity building

Through the support of DFO's Oceans Management Contribution Program, collaboration in the Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala marine refuge is ongoing and includes:

• monitoring and stewardship activities
• development of a management plan

This project will continue to contribute to capacity and knowledge building by the Mamalilikulla First Nation and DFO.

The project provides funding and training to Mamalilikulla First Nation Guardians who monitor the refuge. They look for any marine activity that could damage the sensitive underwater ecosystems. In this way, the project improves onsite monitoring capacity at this remote location.

It also provides the Mamalilikulla First Nation with the resources to manage and participate in underwater dive surveys of the Hoeya Sill. These surveys foster a better understanding of the area's unique biodiversity, such as the varieties of corals, sponges and aquatic species living there, and how they are changing over time.

The data gathered through the dive surveys will also help identify sensitive areas and support the development of the refuge's management plan.

"This project is an opportunity to understand and support the government's regulations, standards and guidelines around marine protection. Under our ancient law of Aweenak'ola, we do not separate those things out, but working hand in hand with partners like DFO gives us the opportunity to learn about specific western methodologies while still practicing our own stewardship in the areas," says Chief Councillor Winidi. "... it means that we have some control over the environment and that the beings that live in it are going to be able to thrive in the future. This area is also a very significant origin area for our people, and we have a long history there that we want to reconnect with. It means that someday we can come back here and enjoy it in the same way our ancestors did."