Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

MPAs are:
  • Areas of the ocean that are set aside to help restore populations of fish and marine species whose numbers have dropped because of overexploitation and other industrial activities. MPAs allow rare and endangered species to recover, and protect sensitive habitats, spawning and rearing grounds.
  • Sanctuaries for conserving healthy, diverse and productive ocean ecosystems, along with fisheries and a host of other precious marine gems.
Canada's MPAs on the world stage
  • In 2002, the World Parks Congress recommended that 20-30% of every habitat in the oceans be given full protection from extractive uses. These areas are known as no-take MPAs
  • As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Canada has a duty to uphold its commitment to establish and maintain a comprehensive, effectively managed and ecologically representative national system of MPAs.
          Learn more about the benefits of MPAs here  


Glossary of MPA Terms

MPA Articles & Reports

Resources for Fishermen

Resources for Government

Resources for First Nations

Resources for Educators
CLICK HERE to send an e-mail to the Canadian Government urging them to immediately protect those coastal habitats that work to combat climate change.

Scientists of the United Nations Environment Program recommended to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference that 80 percent of the world’s remaining seagrass and salt marsh habitat be protected as an important step among the range of strategies necessary to combat global climate change. The best way to protect coastal ecosystems is to set aside marine protected areas (MPAs) and regulate their use through marine planning and ecosystem-based fisheries management. As the nation with the longest coastline in the world, protecting these ecosystems is part of the action Canada should take to combat climate change.