Scotian Shelf–Bay of Fundy Marine Conservation Network
Transcript
Welcome to the Marine Conservation Network Plan webinar for the Scotian Shelf - Bay of Fundy Bioregion.
The purpose of this webinar is to provide background information on the marine conservation network planning process, to present the Marine Conservation Network Plan for the Scotian Shelf Bay of Fundy Bioregion, and to let you know how you can provide feedback into this process.
If you would like to complete the online survey and provide feedback, please follow the link in the description below.
Background information.
Why do our oceans need protection? First and foremost, our oceans are under pressure from a variety of existing and new activities.
In addition to these local impacts, climate change is adding stress to many marine ecosystems.
It's important for us to protect our oceans because they provide many benefits to Canadians, including the provision of food and clean air.
Current marine conservation areas in Canada.
Canada is committed to protecting 30% of its oceans by the year 2030. Currently, 14.66% of Canada's oceans are protected. Meeting this target is a collaborative effort between Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada. The map on this slide shows the distribution of marine conservation areas in each of Canada's three oceans.
What is a Marine Protected Area?
A marine protected area, or MPA, is a part of the ocean that is legally protected and managed to achieve the long term conservation of nature. MPAs can protect marine species and ecosystems, they can promote ecosystem benefits to help address the effects of climate change, they can protect endangered species and conserve biodiversity, and they can support and even protect traditional fisheries such as the inshore lobster fishery. MPAs also typically allow for traditional activities such as recreational hunting and fishing and low impact tourism activities to continue. So there can be economic benefits of MPAs as well.
Types of MPA's in Canada.
As you can see by the figure on the right, there are a variety of types of marine protected areas in Canada. There are three federal agencies that can create and manage MPAs: the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Parks Canada, and the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Other types of marine protected areas include Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and provincial designations.
So let's take a look at an existing marine protected area in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. The Gully MPA was established under the Oceans Act in 2004. The Gully is a large submarine canyon on the edge of the Scotian Shelf, just east of Sable Island. The canyon ecosystem supports an endangered population of northern bottlenose whales, dense concentrations of cold water corals, which provide habitat for many other species and overall, the canyon ecosystem is known as a hotspot for marine biodiversity. The MPA is organised into different zones, some of which allow certain fisheries to continue.
What is a Marine Conservation Network?
A marine conservation network is a collection of individual conservation areas that are connected through species movement and other ecological processes. Conservation networks offer greater protection to Canada's marine species, habitats and ecosystems. Under the Oceans Act, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for leading the development of a network of marine protected areas on behalf of the Government of Canada. Network planning allows us to minimise any potential negative socioeconomic impacts by including human use information early in the process.
The goals of Canada's National Network of Marine Protected Areas are:
1) to provide long term protection of marine biodiversity, ecosystem function and special natural features.
2) to support the conservation and management of Canada's living marine resources and their habitats and the socioeconomic values and ecosystem services they provide.
3) to enhance public awareness and appreciation of Canada's marine environments and rich maritime history and culture.
What to expect with MPAs?: MPA protection standard.
The MPA Protection Standard provides clarity on prohibited activities in federal MPAs. The standard helps safeguard our oceans from the potentially harmful effects of industrial activities. Under the standard, there are four classes of activities that are prohibited in any new federal MPAs. Those activities include mobile bottom gear fishing, disposal of waste and deleterious substances, mineral extraction, and oil and gas exploration and development.
What to expect with Marine Protected areas?: Compatible activities.
Most sustainable activities like lower impact commercial fisheries such as inshore lobster, ecotourism and recreational hunting and fishing are allowed to continue in coastal conservation areas.
What to expect with MPAs? Indigenous rights and collaboration.
Food, social and ceremonial fishing is rarely impacted by protected area regulations. The Government of Canada is committed to working together with the Mi'kmaq, Peskotomuhkati, and Wolastoqey Nations through conservation efforts to work towards reconciliation goals.
One example of such an effort can be seen in the St. Anns Bank MPA. In the spirit of reconciliation, DFO and the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia are working together to establish a partnership for future governance and management of the St. Anns Bank MPA. More information can be found on the St. Anns Bank MPA website or in the MPA Management Plan.
Developing the Marine Conservation Network Plan.
DFO worked through four major stages when developing the Marine Conservation Network Plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. Stage one was to collect data, stage two was to set objectives, stage 3 was to select conservation priorities and stage 4 was to conduct the network analysis.
During the data collection stage, a variety of environmental, cultural and human use data were compiled. Examples of environmental data included species group distributions, areas of high biodiversity, and biogenic habitats. Cultural data included Indigenous knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge. Finally, examples of human use data included oil and gas licences, shipping traffic density, and fisheries landings.
The next stage was to set some overarching objectives for the conservation network for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. Objective one is to protect unique, rare or sensitive ecological features. Objective 2 is to protect representative examples of identified ecosystems and habitat types. Objective 3 is to help maintain ecosystem structure, functioning and resilience to climate change and other stressors. Objective 4 was to contribute to the recovery and conservation of depleted species. And Objective 5 was to help maintain healthy populations of species of Aboriginal, commercial and or recreational importance.
The next step is to identify more specific conservation priorities under each of the different conservation objectives. Conservation priorities are the specific species, habitat types, or other ecological features that the conservation network aims to protect. Conservation priorities can be organised into two major categories, the first being special features and the second being representative features.
Examples of special features include biogenic habitats, areas of extraordinarily high biodiversity, areas of very high productivity and important habitats for depleted species.
Examples of representative features include functional groups, seabed features such as bank, basin, or canyon habitats, and water masses, which are areas with similar temperature and salinity qualities.
Biogenic habitats represent an important group of conservation priorities. These biogenic habitats provide essential ecosystem functions by providing habitat for a variety of other species. Examples of important biogenic habitats in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion include eelgrass beds, kelp beds, saltmarsh and concentrations of cold water corals.
Another important group of conservation priorities are functional groups. These are groups of species that share the same role in an ecosystem based on where they live and what they eat.
The final stage in developing the conservation network plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion is to conduct the network analysis. This is where we bring together information from all of the individual conservation priorities with information on the various human activities and we conduct an analysis to identify a network configuration that would effectively conserve conservation priorities while minimising overlap with important areas for the different human uses in the bioregion. From there, we conducted consultation and engagement with partners and key stakeholders, we made further revisions to the network design following the consultation and ultimately arrived at our Marine Conservation Network Plan that we're presenting today.
This slide shows the Marine Conservation Network Plan for the Scotian Shelf - Bay of Fundy Bioregion, which is the focus of the current engagement process. The yellow areas on the map represent existing marine protected areas and other types of spatial conservation measures. The salmon coloured sites on the map represent Areas of Interest for Oceans Act MPA designation. The two AOIs Fundian Channel - Browns Bank and Eastern Shore Islands are being led by DFO. While these sites are important components of the network they are undergoing, site specific assessment and engagement processes separate from the network public engagement. If you have questions about the AOIs, please contact the DFO e-mail address in the description. The darker blue areas represent proposed Tier 1 conservation areas. These are sites that could be considered for advancement by 2030. The lighter blue areas are proposed Tier 2 conservation areas. These are areas that will be important to designate to complete the conservation network, but they will not be considered for 2030 advancement.
This slide takes a closer look at the Bay of Fundy portion of the Scotian Shelf - Bay of Fundy Bioregion. Sites 1, 2 and 3are being led by the Canadian Wildlife Service as part of a separate Inner Bay of Fundy planning process. For specific questions on that process, please contact CWS using the e-mail in the description.
This slide takes a closer look at the southwest Nova Scotia portion of the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. Parks Canada is collaboratively exploring the possibility of establishing a National Marine Conservation Area for the marine component of the Pemsɨk Conservation Mosaic as proposed by Bear River First Nation. This is site #13 on the map. For specific questions on Pemsɨk, please contact Parks Canada using the e-mail in the description.
This slide takes a closer look at the eastern Nova Scotia portion of the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion.
This slide takes a closer look at the Cape Breton portion of the Scotian Shelf - Bay of Fundy Bioregion. Note that sites are limited to the east coast of Cape Breton.
And finally, this slide shows the offshore portion of the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion.
If you would like more information on any of the individual sites that make up the conservation network plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion, please visit our interactive map using the link in the description. The interactive map allows you to turn layers on and off, access the map legend, and identify the geographic coordinates of specific points on the map. You can also visit the User Guide for more tips in tutorials. The map also allows you to zoom in and select specific sites which provide you with even more detailed information, including the size of each site, a more detailed map, the key ecological features and the main human uses of the area.
We are seeking public feedback on the conservation network plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. If you would like to provide input on the network or any of the individual sites, please complete the online survey using the link in the description.
If you have any outstanding questions on the conservation network planning process for the Scotian Shelf - Bay of Fundy Bioregion, we encourage you to attend one of our virtual Q&A sessions: May 8th from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, and that same day from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. And then June 5th from 3:00 to 4:00 PM and again 6:00 to 7:00 PM that evening. To register for the Q&A sessions, please follow the link in the description. The online survey will also be open from April 29th to June 29th if you would like to provide feedback. Again, please access the survey following the link in the description.
What is next for the Marine Conservation Network Plan?
The aim is to complete the Conservation Network Plan by the end of 2024. This will allow the Government of Canada to select future sites based on this final plan. This would include any new sites to be designated by 2030.
The plan will also continue to be updated as new information becomes available.
This concludes the webinar on the Marine Conservation Network Plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. If you would like to contact us, please use the e-mail address on the screen MaritimesMPAs@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Also, we encourage you to follow the links in the description to explore our interactive map and to provide your feedback using the online survey. Thank you.
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