Marine Protected Areas

Canada's role as a leader in oceans and marine resource management is reaffirmed in the Oceans Act (1977), a legal framework developed to address the needs of our oceans and chart the course of how Canada will manage the oceans in the 21st Century. Canada's Oceans Strategy has recently been developed as a strategy for oceans management based on the principles of sustainable development, integrated management and precautionary approach. Part of the strategy includes establishment of marine protected areas, to which the governments of Canada and British Columbia are committed on the Pacific coast.

Marine Protected Areas contribute to:

• protecting representative areas of high biodiversity;
• maintaining essential ecological processes and life support systems;
• protecting habitats critical to all portions of species' life cycles, such as spawning areas, breeding colonies, nursery areas, migratory stopovers and feeding areas;
• providing natural marine environments for marine-related recreational and tourism activities;
• protecting endangered or threatened marine species and their habitats;
• protecting marine and coastal areas of culture and spiritual significance; and
• protecting vulnerable, unique or outstanding areas or features.

Gabriola Passage, Race Rocks, Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents, and Bowie Seamount are biologically rich and exceptional areas on Canada's Pacific Coast. They represent unique ecosystems that support diverse life forms that, in some cases, have not been identified elsewhere in the world. The Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents was designated as Canada's first Marine Protected Area (MPA). In the case of Race Rocks and Bowie Seamount, significant progress has been made towards designating these sites a Marine Protected Areas.

For more information visit our Marine Protected Areas website.