Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers (CCFAM) Report on Canada’s Network of Marine Protected Areas, June 2017

Table of Contents

• Complete Text
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• The Importance of Healthy Oceans
• Benefits of Marine Protected Areas and Marine Protected Area Networks
• Marine Protected Area Network Planning
• Progress in Priority Marine Bioregions
• Marine Conservation Targets: 2017 and 2020
• Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OEABCM)
• Conclusion

Progress in Priority Marine Bioregions

Work is advancing in five priority bioregions: Pacific Northern Shelf, Western Arctic, Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves, Scotian Shelf, and the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. This work will support the establishment of individual MPAs that may count toward the 2020 target, and will provide the long-term platform for identifying future marine areas for protection.

While the identification of MPAs will be the result of network planning processes (outlined above and in the 2011 National Framework), areas outside these priority bioregions may also be identified (for example, in large offshore areas and in the eastern Arctic). Planning in the remaining eight bioregions will advance in consultation with governments, Indigenous groups, and a range of stakeholders.

MPA Network Strategy for the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence Bioregion

In September 2016, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released the Marine Protected Area Network Strategy for the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence Bioregion. The bioregion encompasses the upper estuary, the lower estuary, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This MPA network strategy provides a platform for achieving MPA network objectives in a coordinated, coherent, and effective way among all the parties. Indigenous groups and interested parties will be engaged as MPA network development advances. Any projects will be coordinated by the existing bilateral structures, especially the Canada-Quebec Bilateral Group on Marine Protected Areas (BGMPA). The Strategy also supports continued implementation of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Integrated Management Plan (2013).

To develop the Strategy, bilateral consultation and engagement processes have been established with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador for MPA network-related collaboration. Consultations were also held with Indigenous groups, industry and other stakeholders, and academia.

MPA Network Development in the Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves Bioregion

The Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Region has been actively engaged in the advancement of the MPA Network for the NL Shelves Bioregion. Consultations on network planning, and gathering and validating various information sources, are ongoing with provincial and other federal representatives, Indigenous groups, industry, and conservation groups.

In consultation with Newfoundland and Labrador and other federal Departments, DFO has developed an MPA Network Strategy and a network plan will be developed in 2017. The Strategy has been endorsed by regional governance committees and has undergone extensive consultations with other federal and provincial departments and agencies, Indigenous groups, industry and conservation groups. The Strategy guides the MPA Network development and the design process intended to identify and prioritize areas for the creation of future MPAs.

MPA Network Development in the Northern Shelf (Pacific) Bioregion

The Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada and 17 First Nations are implementing the Canada-B.C. MPA Network Strategy to develop an MPA Network Plan in the Northern Shelf Bioregion of B.C. Formal governance arrangements are currently being negotiated. Bioregional network objectives have been developed and finalized, a stakeholder engagement strategy is nearing completion, and technical work is under way. A final network plan is expected to be completed by March 2019, and will be used to identify and prioritize new areas for the establishment of future MPAs.

MPA Network Development in the Western Arctic Bioregion

MPA Network planning is currently underway in the Western Arctic bioregion, a broad geographic area encompassing the waters of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, as well as the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. The federal government is working with co-management partners to respect and support the rights and responsibilities guaranteed under two separate settled land claims: the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984) and the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement (1993).

Community consultation tours were held in the Spring 2016 and February 2017 to confirm conservation priorities for the MPA Network and provide opportunities for dialogue on marine protection efforts with co-management partners, elders and community members. An MPA Network Action Plan is expected to be ready for implementation by 2019.

MPA Network Development in the Scotian Shelf Bioregion

Bilateral consultation and engagement processes have been established with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. DFO continues to discuss network development with Indigenous groups, various industry groups, at public open houses, and with other interested groups (for example, conservation and local community groups). More than 120 meetings have been held since October 2015. Part I of the Science Advisory Process was completed in July 2016 and Part II was completed in November 2016.

A draft MPA network design will be ready for consultation with provinces and Indigenous groups by late spring prior to public release in Fall 2017. The design will prioritize two new Areas of Interest for proposed MPA designation by 2020. A full year of consultation is planned on the draft network design.

The following are two examples of bilateral cooperation to advance marine conservation in bioregions.

Canada – British Columbia Marine Protected Area Network Strategy

With over 450,000 km² of internal and offshore marine waters, Pacific Canada is one of the most diverse and productive marine environments in the world. This Strategy is the result of governments working collaboratively with First Nations, local governments, communities, stakeholders and the public. The Strategy’s joint federal-provincial approach to the development of a network of marine protected areas will not only safeguard communities but preserve the beauty and productivity of the ocean.

The Canada-Quebec Bilateral Group on Marine Protected Areas

Established in 2007, the Canada-Quebec Bilateral Group on Marine Protected Areas (BGMPA) was created to ensure a coordinated approach to establishing MPAs that respects the jurisdictions of the Quebec and federal governments. The BGMPA is working on ratifying a cooperation agreement between Canada and Quebec. In 2017, the BGMPA will continue to work on establishing MPAs in, among other places, the estuary of the St. Lawrence River, one of the largest estuaries in the world, and in the Banc-des-Américains, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The OTG recognizes the ongoing MPA network planning in the five priority bioregions and will continue to provide national policy guidance, as appropriate, to advance this work, including in other bioregions.