Gwaii Haanas Proposed National Marine Conservation Area
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is a Canadian icon known for its spectacular beauty and unique ecology. Gwaii Haanas is also home to an amazing concentration and diversity of marine life - from seabirds, including horned and tufted puffins and rhinoceros auklets, to the seventeen species of whales and dolphins, fish species including herring, salmon, halibut and rockfish, and incredible kelp forests. Since 2002, CPAWS-BC has been working with Parks Canada and the Haida Nation to protect this extraordinary area as a National Marine Conservation Area.
Glass Sponge Reefs & Cold Water Corals
Dating back 9,000 years, and thought to have become extinct 40 million years ago, the globally unique glass sponge reefs of British Columbia provide vital habitat for juvenile rockfish and other marine life. Cold water corals also provide habitat for a wide variety of species, including rockfish, shrimp and crabs. They are slow-growing and are therefore extremely vulnerable to damage. The glass sponge reefs and cold water corals are at risk of destruction from trawling. CPAWS-BC is working to protect these incredible animals.
Southern Strait of Georgia Proposed National Marine Conservation Area
Situated between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, the Southern Strait of Georgia is a nutrient-rich marine environment with lush kelp forests and sea grass beds, providing habitat for a vast array of marine life. CPAWS-BC is working with community groups to advance the establishment of a zoned National Marine Conservation Area in the southern Strait of Georgia.
Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA)
CPAWS is working with the major marine conservation organisations in BC to advance, inform and guide integrated oceans management planning on the BC coast with an initial focus on the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (Northern Vancouver Island to the Alaska border).
SeaChoice
The movement towards sustainable seafood is about solutions for our oceans. Choosing sustainable seafood is a simple and effective action that you can take every time you eat at a restaurant or buy seafood. Whether you are an individual shopping for your family, a chef buying for your restaurant, or a supplier sourcing from fishing communities, your choices count.
Scott Islands Marine Wildlife Area
Located off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, the Scott Islands represent the single most important seabird area in Pacific Canada. In addition to providing feeding habitat for internationally listed species of endangered seabirds, the region supports some of the the largest Steller Sea Lion rookeries in the world and is an important rockfish area. While the islands themselves are protected, CPAWS-BC is working with Environment Canada towards designating the waters around the Scott Islands as a Marine Wildlife Area.
Big Eddy
Who is Big Eddy? The Juan de Fuca Eddy ecosystem, affectionately known as "Big Eddy" is a seasonal, nutrient rich eddy that drives a highly productive transboundary marine ecosystem. Located off the west coast of Vancouver Island and the northwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, the Big Eddy is one of the most productive ocean ecosystems in North America.
CPAWS - British Columbia Chapter