E-Newsletter, No. 2 April 2008

The Pacific North Coast Integrated Management
Area (PNCIMA) includes waters of the Central
Coast, North Coast, and Haida Gwaii on the British
Columbia coast. This is an area of high ecological,
social, and economic importance and encompasses
approximately 88,000 km2. Management to date
has not always effectively addressed all of the
issues in this region, resulting in the degradation of
certain environments.

This newsletter was created to document the progress of the federal government to take measurable action by June 8, Oceans Day, 2008 tolaunch a marine planning process in PNCIMA that will establish a network of marine protected areas
and maintain ecosystem health and integrity.

This is the second e-newsletter PNCIMA Watch has sent to provide regular updates on the progress of the government toward showing true leadership in establishing a marine planning process in PNCIMA, one that will enable the people who work and live
on this coast to create a vision for the future that includes healthy oceans and healthy communities.

Bowie Seamount MPA
The Bowie Seamount is located 180 km west of
Haida Gwaii on Canada’s Pacific coast and has a
total area of 6,131 km2. Although this area falls
outside of the PNCIMA region, it is part of the
Pacific North Coast marine ecosystem. On March
22nd, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
(DFO) published the Bowie Seamount MPA
regulations in the Canada Gazette for a 15-day
comment period. PNCIMA Watch commends DFO
for moving forward with the establishment of Bowie
Seamount as a Federal MPA. However, Canada
has committed to establishing a network of
MPAs by 2012 as part of their commitments under
the Convention of Biological Diversity, yet no new
candidate MPAs have been identified in PNCIMA.

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Progress Tracker
In the last month, while none of the identified
milestones have been met, we hear that some
progress is being made. PNCIMA Watch has been
told that DFO, Coastal First Nations, and the
Province of British Columbia are close to signing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing to
a governance structure for the PNCIMA process,
and that a formal announcement could be made as
early as late April. In other good news, we hear
that there will be two new hires in the Oceans
Branch in DFO, one of whom will focus solely on
PNCIMA. Could this be the beginning of a PNCIMA
Planning Office?

For now, the progress tracker remains at zero, with
no milestones or elements completed, but we are
hopeful that this will change in our final
newsletter prior to Oceans Day.

Who We Are
The organizations behind PNCIMA Watch include
the Living Oceans Society, the David Suzuki
Foundation, and the Sierra Club of British
Columbia. Together these groups are working to
help inform those who are interested in establishing
an integrated management plan for the PNCIMA
that improves ocean management and establishes
a rigorous conservation plan for the region.
Our organizations are committed to protecting and
restoring healthy marine ecosystems in the
PNCIMA region. We believe that the best way to
achieve this outcome is through a collaborative
marine planning process that brings together the
people who work and live on the coast to decide
how to use the ocean and its resources so that our
ocean's health is sustained over time.