In 2002 Canada’s Oceans act tasked the
minister of fisheries and oceans to lead and commit to get a network of MPAs in
the world summit on suitable development. The network was to be established by
the end of 2012. Canada’s great lakes and oceans have a surface area of around
5.7 million km^2, which is equivalent to about 56% of Canada’s land. There are
currently 7 designated MPAs in Canada, which ranked it as 70th out
of 228 countries in 2007. It can take months or years for MPAs to be
established depending on the government legislations and policies and the
stakeholders involved in creating the MPA. Below is a report card made by the
David Suzuki foundation:
This shows one example of how Canada is doing quite poorly compared to
other countries. Canada has only about 0.5% of the possibly oceans reserved,
does not get enough funding, and does not have an efficient way to show what
degree of habitat is being preserved. Canada does have legislations in place
that aid in making MPAs but they have not established enough MPAs with a large
amount of area in a efficient period of time. Within Canada there are about 8
federal legislations and 40 provincial/territorial legislations to aid in the
creation of MPAs. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has established two
out of the seven. This may sound like a good percentage compared to the rest of
the provinces but in reality the two MPAs; Gilberts bay and Eastport are very
small in size. Gilbert’s bay is about 60 km^2 and Eastport is about 2 km^2 (see
descriptions in previous blogs). There could be much improvement because the
majority of Newfoundland and Labrador is surrounded by water. The province that
seems to have the most area of MPAs within Canada is British Columbia. BC also
has two MPAs; Bowie Seamounts about 130 km^2 and Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents
about 150 km^2. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
resources (IUCN) has made categories for the different
types of MPAs. The majority of the area
of Newfoundland and Labradors MPAs are created for landscape and seascape shaped
by human interaction (category v) and created for sustainable use (category
VI). In British Columbia the majority of the MPAs area is created for science
or strict nature reserve (category I) and for ecosystem protection and
recreation (category II). Ideally MPAs would work best under category I because
they consist of strict nature reserves were no fishing or human activity goes
on, this gives more chance for the spillover effect. The spillover effect is
when the ecosystem and species within the MPA grow and they soon spill over the
borders of the MPA and enrich environment that is not protected. All in all
Canada and Newfoundland need to use the tools of the legislation and policies
to create more MPAs in the future.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/reports/2008/marine-protected-areas-progress-report-card/
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/marineareas-zonesmarines/mpa-zpm/index-eng.htm
Nicholls, H.B. 1998. Canadian East Coast
Marine Protected Areas: a review. Ocean coastal management. EISEVIER.87-96.
What principles from terrestrial PA design can be applied to MPAs and what design principles need to be developed unique to MPAs?
ReplyDeleteHi Yolanda,
DeleteTerrestrial protected areas and marine protected areas have some similarities but also differences. For example, size, shape, connectivity and representation are some design principles that can be applied to both terrestrial PAs and MPAs. The "bigger is better" rule for size is applicable to both of these PAs. It is better to have square or rectangular protected areas rather than an irregular or elongated shaped PA. Square or rectangular shapes cut down on the effect of edge effects and increase interior protection.
However, MPAs do need different approaches when designing them. MPAs have to take into consideration tides, currents and circulation patterns and shifts in overall productivity. Terrestrial PAs have more noticeable and discrete boundaries whereas MPAs have more relatively open boundaries. Another difference is humans do not live in MPAs but it is possible that humans live in or near terrestrial PAs. Another factor affecting MPAs is that some marine species have longer migration routes than some terrestrial species which can be an important design principle to consider.
Hope that answers your question!
Ian and Carrissa
Every time I read an article on conserving species such as managing and controlling endangered or invasive species, Newfoundland and for the rest of Canada for that matter always talks about public awareness, and it seems to be the number one intuitive on Canada's role in this management strategy.
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that it is good that it is one of our main focuses or should we really start to create more laws and follow David Suzuki's report card more closely.
I do agree that public education and awareness about MPAs should be an important role. However, there are other important factors that need to be considered at the same level as public awareness. If more laws were set in place to create more marine protected areas and non-take reserves, they should be followed through. There are a number of current laws set in place in Canada however they can be improved by clarifying their measurable objectives, targets and timelines.
DeleteIan and Carissa
Are there any marine species/features that Australia and/or the United States have that would lead to them having more Marine Protected Areas than in Canada? For instance, are there more species at risk that require more protection?
ReplyDelete