Western Honguedo Strait Coral Conservation Area

Location

Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence Bioregion (Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador)

Approximate Size (km²) contribution to Marine Conservation Targets

496 km²

Approximate % coverage contribution to Marine Conservation Targets

<0.01%

Conservation Objective

Cold-water coral protection

Ecological Components of Interest

Species of regional importance: cold-water corals

• Why they are important: cold-water corals are fragile, slow to recover, structure-providing species.

Habitat that is important to biodiversity conservation: cold-water corals

• Why they are important: This conservation area features high concentrations of three sea-pen species: Pennatula aculeata, Pennatula grandis and Anthoptilum grandiflorum. The area has the highest concentration of Pennatula aculeata sea pens among all of the candidate sponge and coral conservation areas that were examined in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence bioregion. These species create structures that provide diverse habitat for many other species.

Prohibitions

The ecological components of interest are effectively conserved through the following prohibitions:

All fishing that uses bottom-contact gear, such as bottom trawls, dredges, bottom seining, traps, gillnets, and bottom longlines.

Other Considerations

No human activities that are incompatible with the conservation of the ecological components of interest may occur or be foreseeable within the area.

Environmental Context

This conservation area includes communities of sea pens that are classified as significant benthic areas (CSAS SAR - 2017/007) in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence bioregion.

High concentrations of these soft corals create habitat with complex structures that provide refuge, feeding, and rearing areas for many marine species, thus supporting greater biodiversity.

Prohibiting bottom-contact fishing gear makes it possible to directly protect the fragile structure of corals and can also help protect the fish and invertebrate species that rely on this habitat.

Note:

Following the signing of the Canada–Quebec Collaborative Agreement to Establish a Network of Marine Protected Areas in Quebec in March 2018 (available in French), the governments of Canada and Quebec are evaluating the possibility of reinforcing coral and sponge conservation measures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by prohibiting certain activities other than fishing in certain zones.

Learn more about the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence marine protected area project.