Canada’s oceans need your support

Photo: Center for Whale Research

Help restore biodiversity in Canada’s coastal waters!

Let’s follow through on the commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, including in our oceans.

This means putting 30 per cent of Canada’s oceans under meaningful protection by 2030 and ensuring the remaining 70 per cent are managed in ways that provide conditions for abundance and species recovery. Supporting Indigenous governance and Indigenous-led conservation is foundational to this goal.

Here are some policy recommendations for the federal government that will help us get there:

• Support Indigenous planning, restoration and conservation initiatives.
• Develop and implement science-based, First Nations-supported recovery plans for endangered species like southern resident killer whales and Chinook salmon.
• Stop harmful industrial projects.
• Make sure networks of marine protected areas are co-governed with Indigenous Peoples on all coasts and have strong protections that lead to real conservation outcomes.
• Eliminate the environmental impacts of ocean-based aquaculture.
• Shift to an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.

Tell the federal government it’s time for Canada to follow through on its commitments and support a truly blue economy that has biodiversity conservation at its heart.