Time for Action

It’s easy to ignore the things we can’t see. But it doesn’t take a lot of thought to realize how much we depend on the complex world that exists beneath those ocean waves. For jobs. For food. For recreation. Even for the oxygen in the air we breathe. And of course, all kinds of creatures — from seabirds to sponges to giant blue whales — depend on a healthy environment around them in order to survive.

If we don’t protect these species and spaces, we risk losing them forever.

Unfortunately, the waters off the coast of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are facing big challenges. Today, band-aid solutions are no longer enough for the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy. Instead, we need a bold, ambitious strategy to turn things around — and we need it now.

We know that marine protected areas (MPAs) make a difference. At the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development and at the 2004 Convention of Biological Diversity Canada made a promise to create a network by 2012. When it comes to delivering, however, we’re falling woefully short. In the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy Region, our two MPAs and two coral conservation boxes add up to a mere one half of one per cent of our regional marine environment. That’s lagging far behind the network of protected areas we’re building on land. And compared to the level of protection scientists say our oceans need, it’s simply a drop in the bucket.

Our oceans need action!

We need a plan to dramatically increase the level of ocean protection — a plan that includes commitments, timelines and interim rules to protect vulnerable species and spaces before the opportunity is lost.

The Government of Canada took a step toward its commitment to protecting Canada’s oceans by announcing three areas of interest (AOIs) as candidates for the establishment of Nova Scotia’s next marine protected area (MPA). These candidates are all offshore banks within the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management Area (ESSIM): Middle Bank, St. Anns Bank, and Misaine Bank and the Eastern Shoal. Offshore banks are highly productive areas of relatively shallow water where invertebrates and groundfish are found in high abundance but are one of the many habitat types currently unprotected in our region. (Click on the site names for complete descriptions.)

A public consultation period is now underway to select the one AOI which will move forward to becoming Nova Scotia’s next MPA. The consultation is open to public comments until mid-February 2010. This is your chance to have a say in the future of Nova Scotia’s oceans and we strongly encourage the public to get involved. Public comments at this stage are very important as they will be used by Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff, along with other information, to help evaluate which area will be recommended to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as an AOI for MPA designation under the Oceans Act. To voice your support for increasing ocean protection in our region, download the AOI Consultation booklet and Feedback form.

Read our brochure for information about why we need an MPA network in the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy Region.

Read our study about existing levels of protection in the region.

To learn more about the underwater landscapes of the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy region, download our booklet An Ocean of Diversity.

To learn more about MPAs around the world, visit ProtectPlanetOcean.org

Ocean protection in Canada is lacking – get your voice heard.

Our partners in this campaign: