Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA)

Saltwater Saviours: Big plans needed for B.C.'s watery worlds

By Sabine Jessen
Adapted from Wild at Heart, Summer 2008 issue

The north and central coasts of B.C. hosts some of the world's most abundant and diverse ocean ecosystems. These underwater worlds from globally significant sponge reefs to packed communities of important sea life are relatively pristine and healthy. But with increased shipping, fishing and oil exploration, the future of our northern saltwater ecosystems could be at risk. At CPAWS, we remain very concerned about the ecological integrity of this area. This area has been selected by the federal government as one of Canada's five ocean regions to undergo a planning process to improve management and ensure long-term ecosystem health. Integrated planning is based on managing our activities in a way that adequately reflects the interconnectedness of the ocean environment. The federal government has named this region the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area, or PNCIMA.

The PNCIMA region covers 88,000 square kilometres, about the size of the Great Bear Rainforest. The combination of complex oceanographic conditions and seafloor characteristics in this region, including channels, banks, deep troughs, eddies, upwellings, estuaries, and depths ranging from zero to 2,000 metres, create a wide range of ecological niches which support a diverse array of species. These species include 27 different types of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), including blue, fin, sei, grey whales, and humpback whales, which are making a comeback. Fish are abundant and varied in the region and among the 409 known species are the tiny sandlance, which burrow into the sand to protect themselves from predators; huge schools of herring; long-lived rockfish; giant halibut; and of course, many species of salmon, a cultural icon of British Columbia.

PNCIMA is also home to the globally unique biological glass sponge reefs, which CPAWS has been working for the past six years to protect. They were thought to have gone extinct during the Jurassic era, but were found to extend over 1,000 square kilometres on the sea floor in Hecate Strait, building reefs over the past 9,000 years that are as tall as an eight-storey building.

The 34,500 people of PNCIMA live in 25 communities. First Nations represent 36 percent of the diverse population in the region. Given the global threats to ocean environments, including overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change, it is important to better manage relatively healthy marine ecosystems like those found in PNCIMA.

There are signs of stress from proposed and existing industrial activities and escalating fishing pressure in PNCIMA. If social benefits and economic opportunities are to continue in the region, management must be improved, moving from sectoral to integrated approaches. CPAWS and WWF Canada are working on a number of projects to advance the PNCIMA process, including work on climate change, conservation objectives, economic benefits of planning and review of other marine planning experience in Canada. We will be reporting on these projects over the coming months.

In the meantime, please express your support for marine planning in PNCIMA, and urge the federal and provincial governments to get on with the job.