National Marine Conservation Areas
National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs) are one of the types of marine protected areas that can be established under Canadian federal law. NMCAs are established by Parks Canada, and in many respects are the marine counterpart to our National Parks system on land. NMCAs seek to harmonize protection and resource use. Parks Canada has identified 29 marine regions across Canada, including the Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf, and has committed to establishing an NMCA in each region. Although the NMCA program is moving forward in other areas of the Canada, this is not the case in Nova Scotia. Parks Canada currently has no candidate sites identified in Nova Scotia and has no staff with a responsibility for marine conservation areas working in the Maritimes. This shows a lack of priority for protecting Nova Scotia’s marine resources by our federal government.
CPAWS-NS is focusing on the NMCA program to help promote their establishment in the marine waters around Nova Scotia. Our efforts have included researching and identifying appropriate sites; working with local communities to develop understanding and support for NMCAs; and working with all levels of government to facilitate the process of establishing NMCAs.
To date, our work has focused on two main areas that we feel are strong candidates for NMCA designation: