Fisheries and Oceans Canada

In 2009, Fisheries and Oceans Canada published the Policy on Managing the Impacts of Fishing on Sensitive Benthic Areas. To support the implementation of this policy, a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) process was initiated to: assess the distribution of fishing effort in Canada’s...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one among a number of spatial management tools, and are defined as areas that are established for the long-term, and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural...

Sponge reefs are constructed by hexactinellid (glass) sponges of the Order Hexactinosida. The sponges trap fine sediments, and over centuries of sponge growth and sediment trapping, form large bioherms or reef mounds. Glass sponge reefs are unique habitats found along the Pacific coast of Canada...

This dataset contains area-based management measures that have been recognized as 'other effective area-based conservation measures' (OECMs). It also contains basic information about OECMs, specifically their names, size, objectives, associated prohibitions, and DFO region.  Spatial data for...