Marine Protected Areas
Fisheries and Oceans Canada designates Marine Protected Areas (MPA) under the Oceans Act in order to protect and conserve:
- commercial and non-commercial fishery resources and their habitats;
- endangered marine species and their habitats;
- unique habitats;
- marine areas of high biodiversity or biological productivity.
Ecologically sustainable use of some marine and coastal resources may be permitted in Marine Protected Areas, as is scientific research. Regulations to establish some MPA's do prohibit the removal, disturbance, damage or destruction of some physical structures or marine organisms.
There are seven Marine Protected Areas in Canada - Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents, Bowie Seamount, Musquash Estuary, Basin Head, The Gully, Gilbert Bay, and Eastport - and several other areas of interest.
