Great Bear Sea MPA Network: What are the Facts? - Our Great Bear Sea

Our Great Bear Sea

Great Bear Sea MPA Network: What are the Facts?

The Great Bear Sea Marine Protected Area Network (MPAN) is a first in Canada—leading by example through collaboration to build economic prosperity, ecological protection, and a sustainable future for everyone in coastal communities.

Here are some helpful facts about the MPAN.

FACT #1: The MPAN is not closing 30% of the Great Bear Sea.

In Canada, MPAs do not equal no-take zones. Areas will only be closed where science shows this is necessary to protect species and habitats and restore fish stocks. In fact, nearly 95% of the Great Bear Sea will remain open to commercial and recreational fisheries under the MPAN.

FACT #2: The commercial fishing industry has been actively engaged throughout the process of developing the MPAN and had significant input into its development.

This collaboration is continuing, as sites are established and implemented.

The MPAN meaningfully incorporates many recommendations from fishing industry representatives. These included the removal of proposed sites, adjusting site boundaries, and modifying conservation objectives.

Fishing industry representatives and other stakeholders participated in more than 60 engagement meetings, webinars, and workshops over seven years (2015-2022). Their interests and concerns were incorporated in all aspects of MPAN design. This included:

•    Developing design guidelines

•    Identifying conservation objectives, and ecological and human use datasets

•    Developing performance measures

•    Providing feedback on iterative designs of the MPAN.

FACT #3: The short-term and minimal impact of the MPAN on commercial fishing will be far outweighed by longer-term benefits for the fishery.

A 2023 analysis by DFO, BC, and First Nations estimates the potential financial impact of closures to commercial fisheries at about 8% of commercial fishing effort in the short term. This equates to approximately $24 million in landed value.  But the MPAN is attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in additional investment to the region that will support local fisheries infrastructure (including docks, processing facilities, and marketing networks) as well as other sectors such as marine tourism.

The cost of doing nothing is far greater by comparison. The science is very clear that commercial fish stocks are declining rapidly across the region.  Doing nothing to reverse this trend will inevitably end the west coast fishery. The MPAN is designed to prevent this by rebuilding stocks through the protection of key habitats and ecosystem functions, and promoting resilience as fish species adapt to changing ocean conditions. 

In other words, the Great Bear Sea MPAN is designed to support healthy oceans and a long-lasting commercial fishery.

FACT #4: MPAs are an essential complement to fisheries management.

Fisheries management takes a species-specific approach. MPAs support broader ecosystem goals, including protecting habitat for non-fish species such as whales and seabirds; and benefiting coastal communities that rely on healthy seas for food security and marine economies. 

Current fisheries management is not keeping up with the impacts on fish stocks. Commercial fish species are declining across the coast. According to peer reviewed and DFO research, 22* of the 24 major west coast stocks have significantly declined. These include Dungeness crab (down 77%), Eulachon (down 99%), Rockfish (down 65%), Abalone (down 83%), Herring (down 83%) and Salmon (down 91%).

The MPAN is designed to reverse this alarming trend and to deliver real economic gains, from healthy fisheries to increased tourism and long-term job creation.

* Species declines are respective of peak harvest levels over the past 100 years.

FACT #5: The MPAN purpose, objectives, and planning process were developed through an open, transparent, and well-documented process, in consultation with all stakeholders and other groups with interests and concerns in the Great Bear Sea fisheries.

The results are clearly laid out in the Network Action Plan.

The Goals of the MPAN are:

  • Protect and maintain biodiversity
  • Conserve and protect fishery resources and habitats
  • Maintain and facilitate tourism and recreation
  • Contribute to social, community and economic stability
  • Conserve and protect traditional use and cultural heritage
  • Provide opportunities for scientific research, education and awareness

Quite simply, the MPA network is about safeguarding marine life, sustaining and growing local economies, and keeping BC’s coast healthy and abundant for the next generation.

FACT #6: The science is clear that MPAs help protect and maintain biodiversity.

MPAs protect ecosystems, which leads to more abundant species, greater fish stocks, and bigger fish.

MPAs are where species recover, including salmon and herring fisheries. The evidence demonstrates that MPAs rebuild exploited populations and benefit fisheries, including in temperate oceans with strong fisheries management such as in Canada, New Zealand, California, and New England.

FACT #7: Protecting 30% of global habitats and ecosystems has been accepted around the world as the minimum needed to maintain biodiversity, including global fish stocks.

Even so, the MPAN process did not start with this as a target, instead aiming to establish a protection level based on local knowledge and experience. It was built from the ground up by stakeholders and interested parties, governments, and First Nations to balance specific conservation objectives with economic considerations. Peer reviewed academic science, Indigenous and local knowledge, and stakeholder input of involved groups are at the core of the MPAN.