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October 28 2021

BC OCEAN CONSERVATION DRAGGING BEHIND

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BC OCEAN CONSERVATION DRAGGING BEHIND

CPAWS Calls For Urgent Adoption Of Minimum Standards To Prohibit Bottom Trawling In Marine Protected Areas

Today, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) released The MPA Monitor, to assess the quality of Canada’s marine protected areas (MPAs). British Columbians are proud of the coast’s natural beauty and bounty. However, we are shocked and disappointed to find that the MPAs in BC scored quite poorly: over 60% of BC MPA waters do not have the strong, high-quality protections in place that support thriving ocean life and healthy communities, mainly due to destructive bottom trawling.

Bottom trawling causes large amounts of bycatch as everything that happens to be in the way gets swept up in the net, including unwanted and endangered marine species that should not be caught. Corals and sponges and other habitat forming wildlife are destroyed as the heavy net is dragged on the seafloor. Bottom trawling also causes marine life to choke by kicking up large clouds of sediment as the net moves.

Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area

Bottom trawling actively occurs on nearly 15% of the Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. This harms the food sources of seabirds like tufted puffins the MPA was designed to protect.

Glass sponge reef buffer zones

At less than 1km wide in most places, the buffer zones in the Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area on BC’s north and central coasts are too small. New research has shown that bottom trawling from as far away as 6 kilometres can cause glass sponges to choke.

MPA minimum protection standards

But Canada already has a solution to these problems! In 2019, Canada committed to implementing minimum protection standards for federal MPAs that would prohibit bottom trawling, oil and gas, mining, and dumping. In fact, SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area off the coast of Haida Gwaii effectively bans all these activities and scored as strongly protected in the CPAWS analysis.

We now need the federal government to implement their 2019 minimum protection standards for MPAs that would prohibit bottom trawling, as well as oil and gas, mining, and dumping. This would provide a critical basic level of protection for all of BC’s MPAs.

Read the whole CPAWS report: The MPA Monitor (EN) (FR)

You can also explore Canada’s MPAs through this interactive dashboard.

For this report, CPAWS used the recently published MPA Guide – a standardized assessment tool that evaluates the protection level of MPAs based on what activities are allowed within the MPA – to evaluate BC’s MPAs.

Bottom trawling causes large amounts of bycatch and habitat destruction as everything that happens to be in the way gets swept up in the net, The Narwhal.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of untargeted and unwanted fish and other marine animals are killed and wasted, including endangered species such as bocaccio rockfish, CBC News.

Sediment clouds caused by bottom trawling from as far away as 6km can cause glass sponge reefs to “choke” and stop filtering ocean water, study.

New research shows partially protected reserves are largely ineffective, Hakai Magazine.

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September 21 2020

Blueprint for the Coast

cpawsadmin Campaigns, Ocean Campaigns bc coast, coastal first nations, coastal marine strategy, coastal strategy bc, marine debris, ocean bc, ocean pollution, wcel, west coast

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British Columbia’s coastline extends for over 30,000 km and is home to diverse eco-systems and communities. That’s why it’s so hard to believe BC is one of the only coastal jurisdictions in North America without a coastal strategy and law to protect it.

BC needs a blueprint for the coast to leverage and coordinate the work of provincial ministries, local communities, First Nations, and stakeholder groups to better manage and protect our coast.

BC needs a Blueprint for the Coast

We need to send the message to our provincial leaders that a comprehensive plan is vital to the future of the coast. A blueprint that will:

Advance reconciliation in BC
Coordinate engagement from other orders of government
Establish a home for coastal issues within the provincial government
Implement enforceable coastal and marine zone plans
Signal to the world the importance of BC’s ocean and coastlines

Learn More

Panel Discussions

Join us for a discussion on coastal habitat preservation, as we learn how these ecosystems support biodiversity, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and benefit coastal communities.

Plastic debris, contaminated shellfish, and immune-compromised killer whales – it’s no secret that BC is facing a marine pollution crisis.

About

British Columbia has one of the largest coastal jurisdictions in the world. Yet, BC does not have a comprehensive coast-wide strategy or law. That is why CPAWS-BC launched a campaign with our partners at the West Coast Environmental Law – Blueprint for the Coast.

Coastal-marine areas are vital to our identity, culture, and economy. The coast provides key habitat for vulnerable marine life, such as salmon and orcas. Additionally, ocean-based activities contribute $17 billion annually to the BC economy and employ over 170,000 people across coastal communities.

Coastal jurisdiction can be complicated to navigate. Under Canadian laws, all orders of government – Indigenous, federal, provincial, and local – have a role in coastal planning, management, and protection. Indigenous peoples have sovereign powers over their territories, therefore Indigenous laws are applicable as well. Without a blueprint, the gaps and overlap in coastal jurisdiction results in a fragmented approach to provincial coastal management.

BC has the opportunity to become a leader in coastal management and protection. We can build upon examples from other coastal provinces, states, and countries that have effective coastal management strategies and laws. In collaborating with communities, rights holders, and governments across BC, we can develop a meaningful blueprint for the coast.

Many threats face the coast, including biodiversity loss, intensifying impacts of climate change, and increasing conflicts over resources. To make matters worse, we’ve inherited a jumble of regulations and laws overseen by different provincial ministries and departments. Without a coastwide plan that includes coordination between Indigenous, municipal, provincial and federal governments, issues will continue to be dealt with in an ad-hoc fashion, without considering the interaction of solutions and their cumulative effects.

We’re calling on the BC government to establish a Coastal Marine Strategy and law, co-developed with Indigenous nations. This initiative should coordinate coastal planning, management, and protection in collaboration with Indigenous, federal, and local governments.

We met with coastal Indigenous nations, communities, and local experts to learn about issues of concern surrounding coastal management and about how a BC Coastal Marine Strategy can provide meaningful solutions.

With your help, we’re keeping pressure on the BC government to ensure coastal marine ecosystems are healthy, protected, and secure for generations to come. Your support in sending letters and messages to the provincial government during the Coastal Marine Strategy Policy Intentions Paper public consultation period and BC budget 2024 consultation is helping shape a stronger future for the coast. Thank you!

We’re looking forward to the next steps of this strategy’s implementation.

📁Read the CPAWS-BC submission in response to the Coastal Marine Strategy Policy Intentions Paper public consultation period

📁Joint Feedback Letter from Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations on the British Columbia Coastal Marine Strategy Policy Intentions Paper

📁Read the CPAWS-BC submission to the BC budget 2024 consultation

To learn more, visit: www.BlueprintForTheCoast.ca

West Coast Environmental Law: wcel.org/program/bc-coastal-strategy

ocean bc

BC OCEAN CONSERVATION DRAGGING BEHIND

CPAWS Calls For Urgent Adoption Of Minimum Standards To Prohibit Bottom Trawling In Marine Protected Areas

Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area

Glass sponge reef buffer zones

MPA minimum protection standards

Read more

Blueprint for the Coast

BC needs a Blueprint for the Coast

Panel Discussions

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