St. John’s, NL - May 7, 2018

Tilman Bieger

DFO Newfoundland & Labrador Region

DFO Presentation to

National Advisory Panel on

Marine Protected Area Standards

1. General overview

2. Marine industries

3. Marine conservation

Presentation topics

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Large area

• 29,000 km coastline

• 2,500,000 km2 continental shelf

International

• boundaries with France, Greenland

• many offshore fisheries (>200 miles)

managed under NAFO

Indigenous peoples

• Inuit

• Innu

• Mi’kmaq

NL Region overview

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Indigenous communities in NL

Nunatsiavut - Inuit

Innu Nation - Innu

NunatuKavut – southern Inuit

Miawpukek (Conne River) – Mi’kmaq

Qalipu - Mi’kmaq

Some Innu communities in Quebec with

interests in NL

NL Region overview

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Diverse ocean conditions

• dominated by Labrador Current

• highly indented, mostly rock coastline

• large offshore “bank” areas (<200m depth)

• trenches, slopes to abyssal plain (>3000m)

Identified “Ecologically and Biologically

Significant Areas” include

• coral and sponge areas

• fish spawning/nursery/overwintering areas

• marine mammal and bird areas

Long-term ecosystem fluctuations

NL Region overview

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2016:

~9,500 harvesters

~7,500 processing workers

~ $786M landed value

Recent declines in crab and shrimp

Northern cod still not recovered

(as of 2016)

Shrimp 35%

Snow Crab 35%

Other 16%

Groundfish14%

Marine Industries

Wild Fisheries

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Salmonids

Mussels

Mainly mussels and Atlantic salmon

2016 production value ~$275M

Provincial targets to double salmon

and triple mussel production

Marine Industries

Aquaculture

Marine Industries

Hibernia

Hebron

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Four existing production sites

Periodic seismic surveys and drilling to

find and develop other areas

Regulated by the Canada-NL Offshore

Petroleum Board

DFO provides support and advice to C-

NLOPB including environmental

assessments and monitoring of projects

Offshore oil

White Rose

Terra Nova

Marine Industries

Shipping Submarine cables • communication • electricity

Tourism

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Other

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Marine Conservation

Formal protection: NL has ~22% of the

formally protected marine area in Canada Oceans Act Marine Protected Areas

Eastport (protects lobster)

Gilbert Bay (protects resident golden cod)

Provincial ecological reserves protect marine birds

Fisheries closed areas

coastal closures to protect lobster, salmon

offshore closures protect corals, sponges, groundfish

Proposed Laurentian Channel Marine

Protected Area

Marine conservation is part of ongoing

“regular” DFO business

Marine Conservation

Governance

• Federal-provincial oversight • “Regional Oversight Committee”

• “Committee on Oceans Management”

Collaboration

• DFO Oceans Program has healthy

relations with partners and stakeholders • other federal and provincial authorities

• Indigenous groups

• environmental groups

• industry associations

• others

Regional approach

• Collaborative, pragmatic, evidence-based

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Questions?

Tilman Bieger A/Director, Oceans Management

DFO Newfoundland & Labrador Region

tilman.bieger@dfo-mpo.gc.ca