HALIFAX, March 7 /CNW Telbec/ – WWF-Canada, part of the global conservation organization, today congratulated Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the Honourable Loyola Hearn, on officially designating New Brunswick’s Musquash Estuary as a Marine Protected Area (MPA), under the Oceans Act.
The Musquash Estuary, located 20 kilometres west of Saint John, is the last largely intact and relatively pristine salt marsh in the Bay of Fundy. “WWF-Canada and other conservation organizations have been calling for this sensitive area to be protected for many years,” said Jennifer Smith, Manager, Conservation Planning, Atlantic Region, WWF-Canada. “We are very pleased that this hard work has finally paid off and that this very special area will be protected now and into the future.”
The designation of an MPA will mean an end to coastal development in the area and a ban on aquaculture. Both measures are designed to ensure that the salt march continues to serve as important habitat for birds and sea life.
“WWF-Canada looks forward to working with Minister Hearn and DFO staff in helping Canada meet its international commitment to protect ten percent of its oceans through MPA networks by 2012,” concluded Smith.
WWF-Canada recently released A Policy and Planning Framework for Marine Protected Area Networks in Canada’s Oceans, which sets out a plan for protecting Canada’s oceans through the establishment of MPAs. Along with the US-based Conservation Law Foundation, the organisation also released a study
that identifies other priority areas for conservation throughout the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf.
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/For further information: Kyle Ferguson, Manager, Communications,
WWF-Canada, (902) 482-1105 ext 41, Cell: 902-225-1541,
kferguson@wwfcanada.org/
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