Overview of the Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park

Overview of the

Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park

Parcs Canada / M. Loiselle

Canadian Wildlife Federation

Learning Institut

August 2010

Visées et objectifs de conservation du parc marin

Symposium sur les AMP au Québec

Emilien Pelletier et Nadia Ménard

I. Territory

II. What is an MPA?

III. History

IV. Objectives

V. Management issues

VI. Research

VII. Discussion

Marine conservation: a global issue

(Norse,1993)

• Overexploitation of

species

• Alteration of the

physical and chemical

environnment

• …

The creation of marine protected areas is one of

the best tools to deal with these problems.

(Pauly,2002)

•Convergence of Great-Lakes-St.Lawrence, Saguenay and Atlantic waters

•Overlap of distribution limits of many species

•Ecosystems under the effect of activities withinthe hydrographic bassin

•High biodiversity of habitats and species

•Many complementary protected areas

•Local communities

•Economic activities

•1245 km2

• Three main ecosystems

•Multiple-use marine protected area

•Industrial activities (mining, gas and oil exploration) prohibited

The Marine Park: a tribute to an

exceptional territory

A meeting place

for humans and

the marine

environment

• Abundance of food resulting

from particular oceanographic

conditions

•Prey attract predators

•Tourism industry based on the

beauty of the landscape and on

marine biodiversity

The Saguenay-

St.Lawrence

Marine Park

What is a Marine Protected

Area?

‘a clearly defined geographical

space, recognized, dedicated and

managed, through legal or other

effective means, to acheive the

long-term conservation of nature

with associated ecosystem

services and cultural values.’

(International Union for

Conservation of Nature)

• Open environment

•Protection level varies amongst

and within types of MPAs

Three federal programs

to establish MPAs in

Canada

In 2007, Canada ranked

70th out of 228

countries in establishment of MPAs.

Aire marine protégée

Le Gully

Aire de conservation de la baleine

franche de Roseway Basin

Aire de conservation de la baleine

franche de la Baie de Fundy

Habitat essentiel de la baleine

franche de Great South Channel

Baie de

Cape Cod

Sanctuaire marin de

Stellwagen Bank

Examples of MPAs for marine mammals

Parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent

A long history of human presence

• 8000 years

• Exploitation of marine mammals

• Innu and Malécite communities pursue

subsistance activities

Tourism

• Tourism began around 1850 with scenic viewing

• Boom in the 1980’s with whale-watching

• Landscapes and whales are the area’s main attractions

• Total visitation of the Marine Park and associated sites reached 1 065 687 visits‐persons en 2006

The Marine Park:

a brief history of a long story

• 1977: First analysis of the

potential by Parks Canada

• 1987: Workshop on the

proposed Marine Park lead by

Leone Pippard

• 1988: Coalition for the creation

of the Marine Park;

International Forum for the

Survival of the Beluga;

St.Lawrence Action Plan

• 1990: Canada – Quebec

agreement

• 1998: Officially created

• 2002: Regulations on activities

at Sea in the Saguenay-

St.Lawrence Marine Park

The key to the establishment

Community mobilization and

sense of emergency

«The purpose of this Act is to increase, for the benefit of the

present and future generations, the level of protection of the

ecosystems of a representative portion of the Saguenay River and

the St.Lawrence estuary for conservation purposes, while

encouraging its use for educational, recreational and scientific purposes.»

Parcs Canada / L. Falardeau

An innovative project and “an experiment”

• First MPA in Quebec, on of the first in Canada

• Co management Canada and Québec in the respect of

jurisdications

• Acts optimise exisiting legal tools and respect mandats

of other agencies

• Participatory management structure...in the DNA of an

MPA!

Parcs Canada / F. Di DomenicoParcs Canada / M. Loiselle

Parcs Canada / M. Loiselle

Parcs Canada / J.-L. ProvencherParcs Canada / J.-L. Provencher

Parcs Canada / M.-J. Normandin

Parcs Canada / M.-J. Normandin

Parcs Canada / M. Loiselle

Parcs Canada / M.-J. Normandin

Parcs Canada

Many activities, many players…

A collective challenge!

Challenges over time through the eyes of a

beluga

High use habitats of belugas

Source: Sébastien

Lemieux-Lefebvre

(2009)

„Biological prejudice‟

• Intensive hunting

• Eradication program

• Protected as of 1979

Population not recovered

Stable at 1000

Sources: Hammill et al., 2007;

Gosselin et al., 2007

„Chemical prejudice‟

• Deterioration of

aquatic ecosystems

• Human health

issues

• Awareness of this

environment’s

fragility

Depositional

area of POPs

Source:Lebeuf and

Nunes, 2005

„Physical prejudice‟

• Underwater noise from

navigation

• Collisions

• Modifcation of

hydrographic circulation

• Climat change

Maritime TraficAll motorized boat types

(data source: GREMM and Parks Canada; map C. Chion)

The age of climate change

• Increase in temperature of water coming from the Atlantic

• Visible reduction in ice

• Modifcation of hydrographic circulation?

• Increase of episodes of toxic algal blooms?

„Ecological prejudice‟

State of the Marine Park : 10 years after its

creation

• Progress significant in terms of governance, visitor

experience and scientific research

• Contaminants still present and increase of human

activities exert pressure on ecosystems

• Added value of the Marine Park is significant (prohibition

of gas and oil exploration and exploitation; management

of activities at sea; access to information)

The whale issue !

Parcs Canada / J.-L. Provencher

• A first in Canada

• Recognition (Phénix de l’Environnement, 2003)

• Permitting system (max. 59; science; special activities,...)

• Speed limits (25 kts) througoutMarine Park and on observation sites (0-10 kts)

• General distance of approach (200m), adapted to COSEWIC status (400 m)

• Time limits on sites

• Minimal altitude (2000 ft)

Highlights of the Marine Activities

at sea regulation

Before…

After…?

Threats to whales…

• hunting

• entanglement

• pollution

• Habitat loss

• Disturbance

• …

Observation activities at sea

• Whale watching in the St.Lawrence Estuary isconcentrated in the Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park

• Has become a major economicmotor for the region

• Is one of the most intensive in the world with 53 of the 59 permitsissued authorized to offercommercial whale watching frommotorized vessels on a dailybasis.

• Pleasure craft and kayakers alsopractice whale-watching

On the international scene…

«One of the best regions in the world to

observe whales is the Saguenay

St.Lawrence Marine Park (SSLMP) and the

adjacent proposed marine protected area

(MPA) in Canada…» (Scarpaci et al., 1998)

On the international scene…

«Anthropogenic activities (e.g. shipping,

whalewatching and other tourism and

recreation activities) create intense traffic in

this area, which poses cumulative threats

(collisions of vessels with marine

mammals, disruption of feeding/social

activities, exposure to pollutants, etc) to

marine wildlife that utilize this region»

(Scarpaci et al., 1998)

Fin whale

Special concern

St. Lawrence Beluga

Threatened

Blue whale

Endangered

Concerns with regards to activties at sea

• The presence of boats on critical mating, feeding and resting areas;

• Targeting of specific cetacean communities that are repeatedly sought out for prolonged, often close up encounters;

• The intensive whale watching of endangered species

Striving for the sustainability of

whale watching

• Five criteria developed by WDCS for

defining responsible WW

Criterion 1: A prime recreational

and educational experience

• Motivates participants to care about

cetaceans and the sea and to contribute to

marine conservation;

Criterion 2: An experience that

seeks to reduce the impact on

whales

This includes :

• respecting relevant regulations or codes of conduct (distances, time spent);

• ensuring vessels are fit for the purpose;

• approaching the animals with extreme care and attention;

Criterion 3: Opportunities for

researchers

• Gather scientific information and

disseminate findings to managers and the

public;

Criterion 4: An experience built

around a naturalist or nature

guide

• To provide accurate information, help to

find the whales and describe their

behaviour, and successfully build the bridge

between the urban participant and the sea;

Criterion 5: Active community

involvement

• Enabling communities and regions to have a

financial as well as a personal interest in

whale watching and the conservation of

cetaceans and the sea

Key message

• Whale watching offers a privileged

platform to enhance awareness of threats

to marine mammals and to the ocean

• Marine Protected Areas generally have an

educational mandate

• Whale watching in a Marine Protected

Area should lead to way to showcase

responsible ww and allow participants to

learn about the marine environment

Educational program

• 6 land-based sites established by park managers (3 federal, 3 provincial)

• Many regional municipal and NGO-run sites

• 83 % of visitors in the Marine Park area participated in at least one interpretation activity (2005)

• Initiating collaborations with the whale-watching industry to promote on-board education

Scientific research : an essential tool at the

Marine Park

• Collaboration with scientists from universities, ministries, namely the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada, and from non-governmental organisations allowed to undergo almost a hundred research projects in various fields

• Provides essential information in decision-making with regards to observation activities at sea and fishing

• Scientific knowledge allows to update interpretation activities, education programs and information to communities

Scientific knowledge was essential in the establishment of a

protected area in a marine environment

Priorities for research

• Impact of fishing on populations and ecosystem processes

• Understanding ecological processes that sustain biodiversity

• Monitoring state of the Marine Park (ex: contamination; oceanographic conditions) and efficiency of management

Habitat studies and prey monitoring

• Acquisition of hydroacoustic and oceanographic data to study

the distribution and abundance of different prey types and

predators

• Priority for the first 3 years given to habitats for species at

risk

Study of the influence of variability of pelagic prey on

the maintenance of marine wildlife biodiversity in the

Marine Park1) Monitor the abundance and the availability of prey and predators (birds and

marine mammals), on a seasonal and yearly scale, as an indicator of the

state of the Marine Park

2) Determine the caracteristics of prey aggregations at sites of whale

aggregations to understand requirements of critical habitats for species at

risk (beluga, blue whale, fin whale)

3) Document special events regarding changes in the distribution and

abundance of whales

4) Couple these observations with oceanographic conditions and properties of

water masses (e.g. CTD profils)

5) Provide information to the community (e.g. education, interpretation)

• Echosounders : emission of sounds

in the water and listening of the

echos reflected off the seafloor and

living organismes

• Scientific echosounders allow to

mesure the abundance, density, size

and behavior of living organismes

• Used throughout the world to

evaluate stock abundance of marine

resources and to study marine

ecosystems

The technology

Image : SIMRAD

Artefact}

Layer of fresh water

Photo Parcs Canada / J.-L. Provencher

}

Echogram (38 kHz) recorded aboard l’Alliance at the margin of Tadoussac Bay on August 4th

2009. The three humpback whales photographed at the time of the passage of the boat were located in the area of the yellow and red patch (high density of small fish).

}Layer of

saltwater

Overview of preliminary results obtained through the study of prey undertaken by Parks Canada at the Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park

seafloor

The creation of the Marine Park provides an opportunity to examine society‟s traditional ways of treating theenvironment, and to enhance our attachment to nature and to experiment other ways of managing the impact of our activities