Canada is a maritime nation. Our lands are bordered by three great oceans (the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Arctic) and a huge freshwater ecosystem (the Great Lakes). Together, these water bodies create the longest coastline of any country in the world and support a wide variety of wild plants and animals that depend on clean waters, abundant food, and diverse aquatic living spaces.

Our Diversity of Marine Areas
Ask 30 people to describe their idea of a marine area and you might get 30 different images, all of them right. Canada’s marine areas, all worth protecting, include:

Coastal Ocean Areas

• Islands and reefs
• Sheltered rocky bays
• Intertidal mud-flats and tide pools
• Marshes (saltwater, freshwater, and “brackish”)
• River estuaries

Open Ocean Areas

• Seamounts (underwater mountains)
• Ocean troughs (underwater canyons)
• Upwelling areas (where cold, heavy waters rise toward the surface)
• Polynyas (openings surrounded by ice)
• Hydrothermal vents (super-heated waters)

Values, Threats, and Connections

Many of us live our daily lives out of sight of these essential marine areas and we often forget how many benefits they provide. Marine areas produce foods that we eat and oxygen that we breathe. They help regulate the earth’s climate. They provide Canadians with spiritual links and cultural roots. And they contain an untold richness of biological diversity.

But marine areas are also where our water — and all it carries — ends up when we’re done using it. So, the sad truth is that we also contaminate our water bodies with the by-products of our daily lives — oil, heavy metals, sewage, nutrients, and deadly chemicals — even if we live thousands of kilometres from the ocean. We litter the oceans, over-fish them, and replace coastal habitats with homes, harbours, and resorts. All of this puts a terrible strain on the oceans that provide us with so much. Fortunately, individuals and governments are beginning to value our marine areas and are finding ways to protect them.

Official Protection

Governments are protecting some of Canada’s marine areas by passing laws to conserve habitat and control human activities. Here are a few examples:

Wetlands of International Importance — Through the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Canada has, so far, promised to protect 35 wetlands across the country because of their important role in providing wildlife habitat and protecting water quality.

Marine Wildlife Areas — Martine Wildlife Areas (MWAs) are managed by Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service to protect important marine habitats. Several candidate sites are under study, including the Scott Island Archipelago, off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The proposed MWA will protect more than two million seabirds that nest in this area, including 55 percent of the world’s population of Cassin’s auklets.

Marine Protected Areas — Fisheries and Oceans Canada is setting aside ecologically important areas as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Two have been officially established: the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents MPA, which lies in water 2,250 metres deep, 250 km southwest of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Gully MPA. The Gully is located approximately 200 km off Nova Scotia, east of Sable Island on the edge of the Scotian Shelf. More are on their way, including:

• Race Rocks
  (17 km southwest of Victoria, British Columbia)
• The Bowie Seamount Area (180 km west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia)
• Basin Head (eastern tip of Prince Edward Island)
• Eastport (eastern side of Newfoundland)
  

• Gilbert Bay (300 km from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador)
• Marine waters surrounding Leading Tickles in Newfoundland
• Manicouagan (north shore of the St. Lawrence River, west of Baie-Comeau, Quebec)
• Musquash Estuary (20 km west of Saint John, New Brunswick)

National Marine Conservation Areas — Parks Canada is adding a system of National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs) to its family of protected heritage areas, which includes national parks and national historic sites. NMCAs protect representative examples of our oceans and Great Lakes environments. The NMCA system so far consists of Fathom Five National Marine Park in Ontario and Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park in Quebec. Four other sites are being studied: Southern Strait of Georgia and Gwaii Haanas in British Columbia; Lake Superior in Ontario; and Îles de la Madeleine in Quebec.

Provincial and Territorial Governments — Provincial and territorial governments also protect marine areas through their own systems of parks and ecological reserves. An example is Broughton Archipelago Provincial Marine Park in British Columbia.

Personal Actions
Your actions can protect important marine areas. Remember that all water flows, eventually, to the sea. So, when you protect local waterways, you also protect marine habitats — even if you live thousands of kilometres from the ocean. Here are ways you can help:

Establish a “protected area” in your backyard or schoolyard. Decide that, in your protected area, you will limit the use of pesticides and promote the growth of native plant species. That way, land-based pollution won’t get the chance to start its journey to the sea.

Protect and rejuvenate shorelines along waterways. Our freshwater systems flow to the sea. Keep them healthy by planting trees along stream banks and picking up litter. For information, check the Hinterland Who’s Who Web pages under “Things You Can Do.”

Organize Beach Sweeps. Whether you live near the ocean or a freshwater shore, you can organize a “beach sweep” and pick up litter before it becomes a hazard to ocean wildlife. For information, check the Hinterland Who’s Who Web pages under “Things You Can Do.”

Join CWF’s Blue School Program. You can qualify for funding and get awards for your marine protection efforts by developing and carrying out a “Blueprint for Ocean Action,” available on the WILD Education Web site.