22
Apr 2008 - After many years working with
partners on the conservation of Bowie Seamount
in the northeast Pacific, WWF-Canada celebrated
the official designation of the site as
a Marine Protected Area (MPA) on April 17.
This is an example of how collaboration
between governments, First Nations, communities,
resource users and environmental organizations
can lead to significant conservation gains.
Bowie Seamount, located
180 kilometres west of Haida Gwaii (Queen
Charlotte Islands) off the coast of British
Columbia, is one of the few seamounts in
the world that is completely within a country's
jurisdiction, giving Canada a unique opportunity
to protect it.
Seamounts are rich,
marine treasures that are particularly vulnerable
to over exploitation. Yet, seamounts are
under represented in global sets of Marine
Protected Areas as most are outside territorial
waters.
“Bowie Seamount is an
oceanic oasis in the deep sea, a rare and
ecologically rich marine area, and our government
is proud to take action to ensure it is
protected,” said Gary Lunn, Canda's Minister
of Natural Resources. “By working in partnership
with the Council of the Haida Nation and
groups like WWF-Canada, we are ensuring
this unique treasure is preserved for future
generations.”
A network of MPAs on
the Pacific Coast is a vital part of an
integrated approach to caring for our oceans
and building a sustainable future for our
marine resources, and the communities that
depend on them.
“For many years, WWF-Canada
has been working with partners to protect
this unique seamount chain,” said Michele
Patterson, Director of the Pacific Conservation
Program for WWF-Canada. “The designation
of the Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area
is an excellent example of how conservation
can be achieved by Federal and First Nations
governments, resource users, and environmental
organizations working together to protect
important marine habitats both for today,
and for our children tomorrow. We look forward
to many more of these conservation successes
in Canada.”
The Haida have long
recognized this area as a special place
and named it Sgaan Kinghlas, meaning Supernatural
Being Looking Outward. The new MPA will
protect a complex of three offshore seamounts
– Bowie, Hodgkins and Davidson Seamounts.
Bowie Seamount is one
of the most biologically rich seamounts
in the Northeast Pacific, due to unique
oceanographic conditions that support an
abundance of microscopic plants and animals,
which, in turn,have contributed to Bowie’s
diverse, complex ecosystem. It is fragile
and vulnerable, however, and protecting
it will contribute to its continued survival
and that of its marine community.
Fisheries and Oceans
Canada will work together with the Haida
Nation, WWF-Canada, community groups and
an advisory team, including the province,
to effectively manage Bowie Seamount under
Canada’s Federal Marine Protected Areas
Strategy, and preserve the health of Canada’s
oceans and marine environment.
Melissa Tupper
Communications Specialist
WWF-Canada
+ More
New website on reducing marine turtle bycatch
in the Eastern Pacific
22 Apr 2008 - A new
WWF website has been launched to share information
on WWF's Latin America and Caribbean Sustainable
Fisheries Programme, which is working to
transform longline fisheries towards sustainability.
In the Pacific Coast
of Latin America, fisheries provide livelihood
for more than one million people. With coastal
fishery resources over-fished in many places,
fishermen are forced to switch to oceanic
longline fishing, a gear commonly used to
catch highly migratory species such as tuna,
swordfish, billfishes, mahi-mahi and sharks.
In the tropical seas,
the main fishing grounds are shared with
marine turtle's habitats and migration routes.
As a result, while fishing species of commercial
value with long-lines, other species are
unintentionally caught as well. This is
known as bycatch.
The bycatch problem
is directly linked to the use of J hooks
in long-line fishing operations. Marine
turtles are attracted by baits hanging from
the line, by biting the hooks turtles usually
suffer fatal injuries. When fishermen find
hooked turtles in the line, they can decide
to unhook turtles, but lack of knowledge
on how to do this properly can cause further
damage, thus reducing the chance of survival
of hooked turtles.
In the Eastern Pacific
Ocean, marine turtle bycatch mitigation
in longline fisheries is being accomplished
through a collaborative project with the
fishing industry and artisanal fishermen.
The website shows how WWF is working with
fishermen and other stakeholders to engage
them in efforts to protect marine turtles,
while still maintaining their essential
fishing activities.
Of the different approaches
to mitigate the bycatch impact of longline
fishing, the replacement of the traditional
J hooks by "ircle hooks along with
better handling of marine turtles is the
most promising. Fishermen are trained in
the correct use of circle hooks, and on
best fishing practices to correctly recover
and release unharmed hooked turtles.
The collaborative engagement
approach of WWF's Latin America and Caribbean
Sustainable Fisheries Programme is leading
to a profound transformation in longline
fishing in the waters of the Eastern Pacific
Ocean.
