St. John’s, NL –Today the Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans, in partnership with local communities, announced the management plans for
the Eastport and Gilbert Bay Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Management plans set
the course for a sustainable future for marine resources.
"As we move closer to these two new Marine Protected Areas, it shows what can
be done for the environment when everyone works together," says Minister Hearn.
"This is another example of how Canada’s New Government is taking real action to
protect our precious marine environment."
The culmination of many years of collaboration between DFO and local communities,
the management plans for these Marine Protected Areas are a part of an ecosystem-based
approach to managing marine resources that considers the marine environment from
a holistic perspective. The plans elaborate on regulations, outlining a comprehensive
set of measures in the areas of research, monitoring, public education, compliance,
surveillance and enforcement. Together these measures will ensure the conservation
of the prized ecological, economic, and social values of the Gilbert Bay and Eastport
areas.
"These management plans are living documents," says Minister Hearn. "They allow
us to continually reevaluate and consult with communities along the way to ensure
we meet our goals."
The communities of Port Hope Simpson and Williams Harbour identified the need
to protect the genetically distinct population of Golden Cod in Gilbert Bay.
"We recognized that we had something unique here and that we needed to make sure
we protected it for future generations to enjoy," says Margaret Burden, Mayor of
Port Hope Simpson and Gilbert Bay representative.
Communities around the Eastport Peninsula reached an understanding that protecting
and conserving the local lobster population is critical to a sustainable lobster
fishery in the years to come.
"Fishermen in our area saw that developing a Marine Protected Area and a management
plan for lobster would ensure that the resource continued to be an important part
of our economy," says Vicky Hammond, community coordinator for the Eastport MPAs.
Marine Protected Areas are part of a series of initiatives under the Oceans
Act.
Backgrounders:
Gilbert Bay Marine
Protected Area (MPA) Regulatory Conservation Objectives and Management
Actions
Eastport Marine Protected
Area (MPA) Regulatory Conservation Objectives and Management Actions
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Natalie Cruickshank
Communications
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ottawa
613-947-4441
Erika Pittman
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Newfoundland & Labrador Region
709-772-7626
