Celebrating ocean protection

The past two months marked two very different but equally significant marine conservation milestones in the 30-by-30 quest, Canada’s ambition of conserving 30 per cent of marine habitat by 2030.

On the west coast, the Gitdisdzu Lugyeks marine protected area was awarded a blue park designation, the first in Canada

illustrations by Molly Wells

The 33.5-square-kilometre Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) marine protected area (MPA) – managed by the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation – was recognized with the blue park designation from Marine Conservation Institute for exemplary marine conservation practices in

recognition of the park’s location and the enforcement of rules and management.

For Santana JL Edgar, marine planning coordinator for the Kitasoo Xai’xais Stewardship Authority in Klemtu, this recognition, announced in April, “is confirmation that we are doing the right thing.

“It shines a light on all the work we do,” she says, acknowledging past generations of Kitasoo Xai’xais people who have always held respect and felt responsible for stewarding the natural resources of the land and the marine ecosystems in their traditional territories, located approximately 500 kilometres north of Vancouver.

Edgar explains that Kitasu Bay “has been a vital area for fishing, hunting and gathering – and preserving our harvest before storing for the winter for thousands of years, long before there were permanent settlements.” Rich in marine life, the waters are home to varieties of fish, seabirds, sea lions and whales, submerged eelgrass meadows and kelp forests that are one of the last significant spawning grounds for herring, which is a foundational species of the B.C. coast.

In 2022, the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation acted unilaterally – after years of collaborating with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and other government agencies – to establish the Gitdisdzu Lugyeks MPA and develop a management plan that was put into effect in 2023.

As the Nation witnessed species decline due to overfishing and other threats, “we had no choice,” says Edgar. “We had to step in and establish protection to preserve what was left.”

But advancing coastal conservation, marine production and local food security were not the only goals: “We are also determined to preserve the heritage and history of the area,” she says, pointing out that the land and waters are an integral part of the culture, livelihoods, health and traditions of the local community.

The designation of blue park status for the Gitdisdzu Lugyeks MPA recognizes, emphasizes and reinforces the “rights and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples to steward their own lands,” says Edgar, adding that it is an opportunity to reinvigorate traditional management systems.

Under the jurisdiction of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation Stewardship Authority, Guardian Watchmen monitor the territory, ensuring compliance with the Nation’s closure for all commercial fishing in the bay, among other management measures. The stewardship authority has also implemented ongoing strategies to study and survey changes in the sensitive ecosystem and maintain its ecological integrity.

Edgar says that she is very appreciative of the importance of the work and the influence, efforts and impact of hereditary leadership and knowledge-holders who were tenacious in ensuring that the traditional territories are protected.

She sometimes feels like she is “stepping into big shoes that can almost feel impossible to fill,” she says. Nonetheless, she remains committed. “To me, as a mother, it’s so important to continue this work of preserving Kitasu Bay, to ensure that my own children and future generations have access to these resources and are able to continue to live within our traditional territory.”

Sparking inspiration, stepping up ‘blue wealth’ management

Gitdisdzu Lugyeks is not only the first MPA in Canada to gain blue park status – it is also the first Indigenous-led blue park in the world, says Lance Morgan, president of Marine Conservation Institute, the international institution awarding the blue park designation for exemplary marine conservation practices.

“What is happening with the Kitasoo Xia’xias gives me hope,” he says. “By implementing a more modern version of an MPA in terms of design, management and monitoring, they’re creating a spark in British Columbia. Here are people who get it, who understand that we have to do more.”

Marine Conservation Institute supports the United Nations’ target to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030, a goal Morgan considers “a minimum threshold” for staving off biodiversity loss.

“We’re a long way off from achieving 30 per cent, especially considering the global ocean,” he explains. “And with only six years to go, it is critically important to understand the current status of these protections and whether the measures we have in place can achieve the desired outcomes.”

Morgan proposes to consider MPAs as “savings accounts, where we can keep our natural capital safe and grow dividends. However, if these areas only offer one safe little haven and there is full exploitation everywhere else, any recovery will be challenging. We also need to manage the other 70 per cent of our ocean more sustainably.”

Measures to counteract biodiversity loss – similar to financial austerity prompted by budget deficits – have to address a centuries-long downward trend due to ecosystem pressures from fisheries and other activities leading to habitat damage.

In addition to advocating for sustainable ocean management, Morgan emphasizes the need for evaluating – and stepping up – protection measures in MPAs. A recent assessment, led by Marine Conservation Institute, analyzed the effectiveness of the 100 largest MPAs globally and found that “ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity.”

Based on key indicators for success, including management measures and current human activities, the assessment found that only one-third of the area designated within these MPAs provided a level of protection that is likely to yield meaningful conservation benefits. What’s more, over one-third of the area within these MPAs allowed industrial or other highly impactful activities, such as large-scale commercial fishing, the leading driver of biodiversity loss in the ocean.

“While MPAs are a great solution for protecting biodiversity, improving resilience to climate change and delivering benefits to local communities, we see significant gaps; for example, where management plans are insufficiently developed or challenges with enforcement, monitoring and funding, things that are critical for making sure an MPA meets its objectives,” he says.

The push for greater protection in blue parks is based on “the ability to understand why marine protected areas succeed or not,” says Morgan. “We want to recognize the ones with strong conservation outcomes according to science-based measures and promote them as a gold standard. We also work with those who want to map out a path to achieving blue park status, which we call blue sparks.”

For the future, Gitdisdzu Lugyeks MPA – along with other areas on the central coast of British Columbia – will be part of a proposed Northern Shelf Bioregion MPA network, spanning 30,493 square kilometres. This network – planned and managed by 17 First Nations, the Government of Canada and British Columbia – aims to protect 28 per cent of B.C.’s Pacific coastline, which will make it the world’s largest Indigenous-led MPA network.

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To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition Celebrating ocean protection