Marine Protected Areas and Fisheries Closures in British Columbia

With the introduction of Canada's Oceans Act in 1997, there has been increased interest in British Columbia in legislated marine protected areas and how they presently, or may in the future, relate to the numerous existing Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) fishery closures. The term 'marine protected areas' refers to complex federal and provincial legislated designations that offer different levels of protection of either habitat or species over time. DFO is responsible for the conservation and management of most renewable fishery resources in British Columbia and its regulations supersede provincial regulations. The level of 'protection' in effect for any specific area thus depends on both what fishery regulations apply in an area and the legislative designation that established the 'protection.' To date, this has been difficult to evaluate. Boundaries and information associated with both protected areas and fishery closures have been scattered over a number of agencies. This Guide addresses this problem and provides information for the year 1997 on the spatially and legislatively complex network of 124 legislated marine protected areas and 579 spatially-persistent fishery closures which then existed in British Columbia. While changes are occurring over time, baseline data presented will allow future initiatives to be evaluated in context.