Ecologically Significant Areas Webinar

This bilingual national webinar with simultaneous translation will be hosted by Our Living Waters and will offer a look at a new aquatic conservation tool, featuring experts from Northern Confluence Initiative, Oceans North, and St. Mary’s River Association.

Background:

The federal Fisheries Act (Section 34) enables the establishment of Ecologically Significant Areas (ESAs) – a regulatory tool intended to provide long-term protection of fish and fish habitat that is sensitive, highly productive, rare or unique. 

Areas are protected by:

• setting conservation and protection objectives and associated legal prohibitions for certain activities (other than fishing), works and undertakings (such as preventing gravel removal); 
• setting habitat goals (such as retaining all eelgrass or maintaining fish passage) in a specified area like an estuary or part or all of a river or lake; and
• establishing the ESA in federal regulation.

While ESAs have been in the Fisheries Act since 2012, further details were added in 2019 (Section 35.2) and a framework was developed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2023. ESAs have yet to be used but they have the potential to protect critical fish habitat and fill an important gap in protecting aquatic ecosystems.

Join us to learn more about this conservation tool and hear about potential opportunities to receive support for protecting a nearshore or freshwater system in your region.

Presenters will include: 

• Nikki Skuce, Director, Northern Confluence Initiative
• Susanna Fuller, Vice-President Conservation & Projects, Oceans North
• Joseph Wasylycia-Leis, Senior Freshwater Conservation Campaigner, Oceans North
• Scott Beaver, President, St. Mary’s River Association

Note that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is unable to present due to the current federal election. However, DFO staff have kindly addressed some of the pre-webinar questions we received in advance, and their comments will be shared with webinar participants. They also raised policy questions for your review during the breakout sessions and will be able to respond in writing post-election to any questions left unanswered during the webinar.