Regional Oceans Plan - Scotian Shelf, Atlantic Coast, Bay of Fundy
Background and Program Description

Table of Contents

• Complete Text
• Foreword
• Introduction
  • Purpose
  • Vision
  • Goals
  • Legislative and Policy Context
  • Guiding Principles
  • Approach
  • Monitoring and Reporting
• Regional Overview
  • Ecological
  • Socio-economic
  • Jurisdictional
• Oceans and Coastal Management
  • Marine Spatial Information and Analysis
  • Operational Guidance and Knowledge Products
  • Bioregional Assessment and Reporting
• Marine Protected Area Planning and Management
  • Marine Protected Area Network Development
  • Management of Marine Protected Areas and Other Conservation Areas
• Collaboration and Engagement
  • Departmental
  • Intergovernmental
  • Stakeholder
• Annex 1: Integrated Oceans Management Program Documents

Foreword

The Regional Oceans Plan outlines the approach and actions that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is taking to support oceans and coastal management in the Maritimes Region. The Plan responds to DFO’s responsibilities under the Oceans Act to lead and facilitate integrated and ecosystem approaches to the management of Canada’s oceans. The Plan represents an evolution of previous oceans and coastal management efforts within the Maritimes Region, including the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) Initiative that concluded in 2012. The current approach moves beyond the Large Ocean Management Area (LOMA) concept applied in the earlier phases of DFO’s Integrated Oceans Management Program to one that is based on nationally defined marine bioregions. The Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy bioregion corresponds to DFO’s Maritimes Region and provides the geographic basis for the Plan.

The Plan responds to a set of over-arching goals for achieving integrated and ecosystem approaches to oceans and coastal management:

• Effective decision making
• Ecosystem approach to management
• Spatial planning and management
• Marine conservation
• Collaboration and engagement
• Departmental alignment

The Plan is composed of two related documents, a Background and Program Description (this document), and an Implementation Priorities document. The Background and Program Description is organized in five parts. The Introduction section describes the purpose, vision, goals and guiding principles for the Plan and the activities under it. A Regional Overview and Context section identifies the ecological, socio-economic and jurisdictional contexts for oceans and coastal management. The Oceans and Coastal Management and Marine Protected Area Planning and Management sections set out the department’s core Oceans Act programs, capacities and activities in the Maritimes Region. The Collaboration and Engagement section identifies the mechanisms both within the department and with external government partners to coordinate oceans-related policies, programs and management decision making. Approaches for engaging, consulting and working with marine stakeholders are also described in this part of the Plan.

The Integrated Oceans Management Program Documents Annex provides a list of DFO’s key reports and studies related to oceans and coastal management in the Maritimes Region.

The second part of the Plan, Implementation Priorities (seperate document), identifies the key actions that DFO is taking to meet the goals of the Plan. These implementation priorities have been established for defined periods of time (initially for 2014-2017) and will be updated to meet changing needs and funding availability. These actions are organized in terms of four main priority areas for DFO’s regional Integrated Oceans Management Program: (1) MPA Network Development; (2) MPA Establishment, Management and Monitoring; (3) Environmental Preparedness and Response Planning; and (4) Implementing Oceans and Coastal Management Measures Using a Risk-based Approach.

The Plan will be reviewed every three years to account for changing conditions and priorities. It will also include regular monitoring and reporting processes to assess the effectiveness and relevance of the efforts and to communicate internally within DFO and externally with other government departments and stakeholders.