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Canada's Oceans Strategy

Canada’s Oceans Strategy is a new, modern approach to oceans governance in Canada. It is designed to transform the way we manage and benefit from our oceans and their resources.

At the heart of the Oceans Strategy is a commitment to adopt an integrated approach to oceans governance.

Integrated management of our oceans requires that we find new ways to collaborate – across the federal government, with provinces and territories, with First Nations and Aboriginal people and organizations, with oceans industries, with academia and civil society, with other nations and international organizations, and with Canadians generally.

Canada’s Oceans Strategy provides the framework through which we can work together to ensure that our oceans are used in a sustainable way.

As called for in the Oceans Act, the Oceans Strategy is based on the principles of sustainable development, integrated management, and the precautionary approach. The Strategy calls for the broad application of these principles to all oceans activities.

The Oceans Strategy establishes four over-arching objectives:

• understanding and protecting the marine environment
• supporting sustainable economic development,
• international leadership, and
• modern oceans governance.

To further each of these objectives, the Strategy also elaborates a series of actions that will be undertaken. Highlights of these measures are as follows:

• Development of a "State of the Ocean" reporting system
• Improvement of our scientific knowledge base of marine ecosystems
• Development of a framework for a program of action to address sea-based sources of marine pollution
• Development of a strategy for a national network of marine protected areas

• Strengthening of measures to improve and support management and governance of marine industries, including fishing, aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, offshore minerals, shipbuilding and industrial marine, and innovation
• Conducting an economic analysis of emerging oceans industries
• Developing a marine and oceans industries technology roadmap to help identify technologies that could be supported by Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC)
• Examination of regulatory regimes to improve coordination and ensure effective environmental protection

• Strengthening the maintenance of maritime sovereignty and security

• Development of management arrangements with bordering nations for management of trans-boundary coastal and marine ecosystems
• Supporting capacity development for developing countries for the sustainable development of marine resources

Oceans Governance

• Implementing integrated management planning initiatives on all three coasts
• Developing a federal-provincial-territorial work plan for oceans management for the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers
• Promoting the engagement of Canadians in stewardship activities for the sustainable development of our oceans

Further details of Canada’s Oceans Strategy can be found at:

www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceanscanada.