Tag Archives: process questioned
Consultation process questioned for waters off Cape Breton designated as Marine Protected Area
An area three quarters the size of Prince Edward Island has been declared as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) just off eastern Cape Breton and the people who normally fish there aren’t too pleased about it. According to Veronika Brzeski, executive director of the Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association, local fishermen will be losing 15 per cent of their total fishing area. But what’s even worse was the way the Department of Fisheries and Ocean went about setting it up, she says. Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the establishment of the St. Ann’s Bank Marine Protected Area as part of World Oceans Day earlier this week. The designation means that most human activities such as commercial fishing will be prohibited in 75 per cent of the area. “St. Anns Bank is the third Marine Protected Area to be designated in Canadian waters in less than eight months,” said LeBlanc. click here to read the story 11:30
