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.
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.
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.
Canada is an ocean nation. With the world’s longest coastline and surrounded by three oceans, our marine ecosystems are home to an abundance of marine life and support over 350,000 Canadian jobs.
The Government of Canada is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. Building on this commitment, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (DFO), the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, and the Grand Chief of the Maliseet of Viger First Nation, Jacques Tremblay, announced today that they have agreed to a long-term plan to advance reconciliation in the fisheries.
