Canada Is Going To Protect A ‘Vast Network’ Of BC Marine Areas Stretching From Vancouver Island To Alaska

The announcement came at the IMPAC5 conference.

Christine Martin-Smith Coastal First Nations CEO.
Christine Martin-Smith Coastal First Nations CEO. Background: Landscape panorama of clear water, rocks and sandy beach near Aylard Farm in East Sooke Wilderness Park west of Victoria, BC. Photo Credit: Jaahnlieb | Dreamstime.com (Edited by Canva)

It’s official–Canada is going to be protecting a huge swathe of B.C.’s west coast from threats like industrial extraction, bottom dragging, and poaching with the guidance of coastal communities and First Nations who’ve lived here for thousands of years. 

“After so much hard work by so many, I am pleased to announce that we now have a blueprint for a vast network of marine protected areas,” federal fisheries minister Joyce Murray said this weekend at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Vancouver known as IMPAC5.

A historic day with the announcement of a Marine Protected Area Network for the Northern Shelf Bioregion.
A historic day with the announcement of a Marine Protected Area Network for the Northern Shelf Bioregion. Source: Coastal First Nations on Facebook.

The network will extend “from the top of Vancouver Island all the way to the Canadian and American border near Alaska,” she explained.

It will cover nearly 30,500 square kilometres and will help reverse the “worrying deterioration and declines” of fish-producing habitats up and down the coast, according to a summary of the plan. 

“The area we’re talking about here today is I think unique and precious to the world,” said BC Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen. He called today’s announcement “truly a landmark achievement.”

West coast Vancouver Island near Ucluelet British Columbia Canada on the Wild Pacific Trail.
West coast Vancouver Island near Ucluelet British Columbia Canada on the Wild Pacific Trail. Photo Credit: Mathiasrhode | Dreamstime.com

That enthusiasm was echoed by Danielle Shaw, Chief Councillor of the Wuikinuxv Nation, who described the federal government’s endorsement of the plan as a “monumental moment in history” that will “support the revitalization of fish stocks, wildlife populations, and the habitats they rely on.”

“We all have a lot of work to do,” said Coastal First Nations CEO Christine Smith-Martin. “This is just the beginning.”

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