Investments by the Government of Canada in the Campbell River area are improving the safety of mariners, supporting the local economy, and protecting marine life and fisheries. This includes a new building for the Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station, upgrades and improvements to the Small Craft Harbour at Fisherman’s Wharf, and addition of long range surveillance flights under the Fisheries Aerial Surveillance and Enforcement Program.
Canada’s Arctic waters are essential to the livelihoods, identity and natural heritage of countless Inuit communities. Protecting our coasts and marine habitats for future generations calls for long-term coastal environmental baseline data, which will allow us to identify changes in coastal ecosystems and the long-term impacts of fishing, shipping, oil exploration and development, and other human activities.
The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced today, that the Government of Canada is investing more than $290,000 in two marine environmental data collection projects in the Port of Saint John through the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program.
Healthy wild fish stocks are vital to the economic prosperity and social fabric of British Columbia’s coastal communities, and are fundamental to the culture of many Indigenous communities.
Saskatoon, SK - The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson will make a Nature Fund announcement in support of the conservation of aquatic species at risk.
Over the past 50 years, the world’s wildlife populations have declined by 60%. In Canada, approximately 544 species have been identified as being at risk under the Species at Risk Act and the list is growing. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting and recovering aquatic species at risk, to benefit Canada’s biodiversity as well as local and Indigenous communities that rely on them. That’s why the Government of Canada is taking urgent and concrete actions to ensure that at-risk species are protected for future generations.
Each year, more than eight million metric tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans. Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (known as ghost fishing gear) is a major contributor to plastic marine debris.
Nature is integral to the Canadian identity. The health of our aquatic environment and the wildlife within it support our culture and well-being, as well as the economy across Canada. Some of the species that find their home in the waters, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and marshes in the southern Prairies are at risk and need help to survive. We must take urgent action to protect them.
