Meeting International Standards: Improvements for Canada’s Marine Refuges

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation and partners
Partners: SeaBlue Canada

Oceans and fresh water, Biodiversity protecting coastal waters, policy and regulation, conservation, marine protected areas (MPAs)

This is the summary of A Technical Review of Canada’s Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures: Alignment with DFO Guidance, IUCN-WCPA Guidance and CBD SBSTTA Guidance. The report reveals that more than half of Canada’s marine refuges, a form of marine protected area in Canada, do not meet international standards.

Since 2015, Canada has designated 7.79 per cent of the ocean as protected areas. However, with more than half of that protected under Fisheries Act measures – areas referred to as marine refuges – many harmful industrial practices can continue. Fisheries Act measures restrict fishing impacts and other harmful activities but cannot protect against many significant threats to the marine environment.