marine protected area

CPAWS BC_ Glass Sponge Reef_R1112_08517_Photographer Sally Leys

June 26 2020

New research prompts call for urgent protection of BC’s glass sponge reefs

cpawsadmin News Angela Stevenson, canadian parks and wilderness society, canadian parks and wilderness society british columbia, climate change, conservation, cpaws-bc, dinosaur bc, fishing closures bc, fossils bc, glass sponge, howe sound, marine protected area, mpa, ocean canada, ocean protection bc, ross jameson, ubc

For interview, please contact:

Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-British Columbia

778-953-2372

ross@cpawsbc.org

New research prompts call for urgent protection of BC’s glass sponge reefs

For Immediate Release

June 26, 2020

Unceded Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC – A new study led by Angela Stevenson at the University of British Columbia indicates that ongoing climate change is a serious and immediate threat to BC’s ancient glass sponge reefs. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) calls for the urgent establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) for glass sponge reefs in BC.

Glass sponge reef ecosystems shelter rockfish and prawns and are efficient filter feeders. Healthy glass sponge reef marine protected areas can filter out up to 90% of bacteria from ocean water and work to keep carbon locked in the seafloor.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), along with the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society (MLSS), recently verified five new living glass sponge reefs and one dead reef during scientific surveys in Howe Sound. These reefs need urgent protection if they are to adapt and survive against threats from climate change and human activity.

“Marine protected areas will not only protect glass sponge reefs from physical damage caused by bottom-contact fishing, they will also act as natural climate solutions,” says Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager for CPAWS-BC. MPAs offer long term protection, prevent further damage and absorb carbon to help beat back climate change.

For two decades, CPAWS-BC has worked to establish stronger protection for BC’s known glass sponge reefs. In 2017, Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area protected over 2000 km² of glass sponge reefs off BC’s north and central coast. 17 fisheries closures protect reefs in Howe Sound and the Strait of Georgia. Unprotected glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound and Chatham Sound need urgent attention.

This new study underscores the pressure glass sponges face to adapt quickly to survive in a changing ocean. Protecting these unique biological treasures will not only safeguard economically important marine life, but also ensure the reefs can remain a source of awe and wonder for generations to come.

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For interview, please contact:

Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-British Columbia

778-953-2372

ross@cpawsbc.org

Resources

We would like to recognize the many other organizations who have worked tirelessly to conserve this unique habitat: Marine Life Sanctuaries Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Subsea Society of Howe Sound, Canadian Marine Environment Protection Society, and Sunshine Coast Conservation Society.

Stevenson, A., Archer, S.K., Schultz, J.A. et al. Warming and acidification threaten glass sponge Aphrocallistes vastus pumping and reef formation. Sci Rep 10, 8176 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65220-9

Media Release PDF here.

Additional Images here.

Photo: Delicate white silica glass sponge reef with small crabs — Photo: Sally Leyes

About CPAWS-BC:

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia Chapter (CPAWS-BC) protects wilderness in every corner of BC and deep into the ocean. CPAWS-BC supports the creation of large, well-managed, connected protected areas where native plants and animals thrive, now and forever; and where people and communities can live off the land and ocean without impacting the ability of future generations to do the same.

In the past 50+ years, CPAWS has played a lead role in protecting over half a million square kilometres – an area bigger than New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador put together.

February 6 2020

Oceans Act enforces glass sponge reef marine protected area regulations

cpawsadmin News conservation, cpaws, cpaws-bc, dfo, fisheries act, glass sponge reef, marine protected area, oceans act

For interview, please contact:

Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter

604-685-7445 x 29

ross@cpawsbc.org

Oceans Act enforces glass sponge reef marine protected area regulations

February 6, 2020

Unceded Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) welcomes the conviction of illegal fishing in the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area (Hecate MPA).

Illegal commercial groundfish harvesting was found to have occurred in the marine protected areas. A fine of $20,000 for illegal activity prohibited under the Hecate MPA Regulations, the first conviction under the Oceans Act nationwide. An additional fine, under the Fisheries Act, of $25,000 for possessing illegally caught fish was ordered to be paid.

“We would like to thank Fisheries and Oceans Canada for enforcing MPA regulations under the Oceans Act and protecting B.C.’s glass sponge reefs,” says Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager for CPAWS-BC.

Located in the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound off B.C.’s north and central coasts, the Hecate MPA glass sponge reefs are a world treasure. Once thought extinct for millions of years, glass sponge reefs are now known only to live in the northeast Pacific Ocean, mainly off B.C.’s coast.

CPAWS-BC has been working since the early 2000s to protect B.C.’s glass sponge reefs. After years of pushing for protection, we celebrated when the Hecate MPA was created by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2017. CPAWS-BC continues to work with First Nations and the Government of Canada to protect other vulnerable glass sponge reefs in B.C. Enforcement of these Oceans Act MPA regulations will help ensure these rare ecosystems are not destroyed due to human activities.

Glass sponges are filter feeders. They do this so efficiently that 95% of bacteria are filtered out, cleaning the water. In fact, a single small reef can filter enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than 60 seconds! Glass sponge reefs provide shelter for bottom-dwelling creatures such as rockfish and prawns.

Fishing activity can cause severe harm to these fragile habitats. Prawn and crab traps drop down and crush glass sponge reefs. Bottom trawling of heavy nets dragged along the seafloor destroy everything in their path while kicking up clouds of disturbed sediment, that prevent the sponges from feeding.

While this conviction means that the Hecate MPA is being enforced, more work needs to be done. Jameson says, “Now we need a management plan for this MPA with effective education, outreach, and additional protections to prevent these offences from occurring in the future.”

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For interview, please contact:

Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter

604-685-7445 x 29

ross@cpawsbc.org

Resources

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2020, January 20). Safeguarding our future through the Oceans Act [News Release]. Retrieved https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2020/01/safeguarding-our-future-through-the-oceans-act.html

Quillback rockfish on glass sponge reef. Photo Credit: Diane Reid

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) supports the creation of large, well-managed, connected protected areas where native plants and animals thrive, now and forever; and where people and communities can live off the land and ocean without impacting the ability of future generations to do the same.

ID: Five puffins sit on grassy cliff over ocean.

October 15 2018

Scott Islands

cpawsadmin Ocean Campaigns british columbia, marine protected area, mnwa, national wildlife area, protected area, scott islands, triangle island, tufted puffin

Seabird Sanctuary on the Scott Islands

Photo: Sabine Jessen

Safeguarding millions of migrating seabirds from around the world

The Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area (mNWA) off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island is a global hub for migratory birds. Over one million seabirds nest in colonies on the marine protected area’s (MPA) five stormy, foggy, and rocky islands. Outside of the breeding season, millions of seabirds from across the Pacific Ocean feed in the surrounding rich waters. Internationally recognized as an important bird area, it provides important habitat for:

90% of Canada’s tufted puffins
95% of Pacific Canada’s common murres
50% of the world’s Cassin’s auklets
7% of the world’s rhinoceros auklets

But it’s not only a home for seabirds. These waters provide habitat for cod, sablefish, flatfishes, hake and herring. Seals, sea lions, whales and other marine mammals also call use the area throughout the year.

Photo of three unique seabirds and illustrated island

Over one million seabirds nest in colonies on the marine protected area’s islands

Safeguarding millions of migrating seabirds from around the world

90% of Canada’s tufted puffins
95% of Pacific Canada’s common murres
50% of the world’s Cassin’s auklets
7% of the world’s rhinoceros auklets

Over one million seabirds nest in colonies on the marine protected area’s islands

Stronger Protections for the Scott Islands

However, this MPA is not strongly protected. Bottom trawling, a fishing method involving heavy nets that destroys seafloor habitat, is allowed in much of the MPA. Decades-old offshore oil and gas exploration permits still overlap with the wildlife area. Shipping traffic heavily transits through the area, dumping hazardous waste into the ocean.

In 2019, Canada committed to implementing minimum standards for MPAs prohibiting oil and gas activities, mining, dumping and bottom trawling. Applying these standards to the Scott Islands mNWA would go a long way to adequately safeguarding marine life and the ocean they depend on for survival.

The Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area will be part of a planned marine protected area network for Northern Shelf Bioregion on the North and Central Coasts of BC.

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Stronger Protections for the Scott Islands

The Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area will be part of a planned marine protected area network for Northern Shelf Bioregion on the North and Central Coasts of BC.

iFrames are not supported on this page.

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