Three areas of interests have been announced by the Canadian government to establish Nova Scotia’s next marine protected area (MPA). These are all offshore areas off the coast of Nova Scotia: Middle Bank, St. Anns Bank, and Misaine Bank and the Eastern Shoal. At the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development, Canada committed to creating a national network of marine protected areas by 2012.
According to the government they are lagging behind on this target. In the Scotian shelf and Bay of Fundy region, our three existing protected areas add up to only one half of one percent of the marine environment, and protect only a fraction of the Region’s habitat types. Dr. Robert Rangeley, Vice-President Atlantic for WWF-Canada, informed that they congratulate DFO on this important step to help our oceans recover.
He also said that Nova Scotia has made great progress in protecting significant areas on land, and now we are taking some much needed steps to protect important species and habitats in the ocean. Shannon Arnold, Marine Coordinator for Halifax’s Ecology Action Centre, explained that it is good to see the process of choosing a new off-shore marine protected area go forward.
The next step in the selection process will involve a 60-day public consultation period, beginning on October 13th, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), with the new AOI being selected in early 2010.
