The Library

The Courthouse!

Judge Jellyfish would like to welcome you to the Courthouse, where the mission is to serve and protect Canadian waters. Cruise through our legal library and learn how law and order is kept in the underwater world.

• How does Canada protect its oceans?
• How does Canada protect its fish?
• What is an environmental assessment?
• What is a National Marine Conservation Area?

What is the Fisheries Act?

The Fisheries Act is one of the oldest statutes in Canada; it was passed in 1868, just one year after Confederation. It is one of the strongest pieces of environmental legislation in Canada.

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is in charge of protecting and conserving fish and fish habitat. The Fisheries Actallows the Minister to stop any activities which risk or endanger fish. The Minister can enforce strict penalties to those who do not obey the law.

Protecting fish and their homes

The section of the Fisheries Act that protects fish and their habitat is Section 35. Section 35 says:

"No person shall carry out any work or undertaking that results in harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat."

A "work or undertaking" is a project or activity that can be big or small. Sometimes a poorly planned small project harms fish or their habitat as much as a big project.

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Big Projects that could harm fish and their habitat

• Building roads
• Building bridges
• Cutting down trees along the shoreline
• Improperly carried out logging, mining or farming activities

Small Projects that could harm fish and their habitat

• Building a dock
• Building a floating raft

"Harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of habitat" is how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans describes activities that are unhealthy for fish or their habitat. Follow this link to see a list of Activities That Are Unhealthy for fish and their habitats.

Section 35 applies to all Canadian freshwater and marine waters. These include rivers, streams, ditches, lakes, estuaries, salt marshes, coastal waters and marine offshore areas. This section of the law also covers shorelines and riverbanks and areas that are not underwater such as floodplains.

Fish Habitat Biologists and the Law

Biologists that work for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans can stop or change projects that could harm fish and the places they live. Occasionally, when habitat damage cannot be avoided, the Fisheries Act allows Biologists that work for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to give permits allowing projects to go ahead, but this depends on the type of project and type of fish habitat being affected.

The Fisheries Act helps protect fish and is a tool for preventing harm. Healthy water and healthy fish benefit all Canadians.

The Oceans Act

The Oceans Act is one of Canada's youngest pieces of environmental legislation. It was passed in January 1997 to ensure that Canada's oceans and their resources are cared for.

The Oceans Act provides Fisheries and Oceans Canada with the tools it needs to develop a national strategy that will ensure safe, healthy and productive oceans for both present and future generations.

Under the Oceans Act, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada may establish Marine Protected Areas, Integrated Management Plans, and Marine Environmental Quality Objectives.

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What are Marine Protected Areas?

Marine Protected Areas, also called MPA's are special areas in the ocean that need to be protected. MPA's may be created to do one or more of the following…

• Conserve and protect unique habitats
• Protect endangered or threatened marine species and their habitats
• Protect fish and marine mammals and their habitats
• Conserve marine areas of high biodiversity
• Protect any marine resource or habitat that needs special protection.

What are Integrated Management Plans?

Integrated Management involves working together with coastal communities, environmental organizations, aboriginal groups, governments and others to find the best way to manage a particular area. Together these partners create Integrated Management plans that balance the conservation, sustainable use and economic development of the area.

What are Marine Environmental Quality Objectives?

Marine Environmental Quality (MEQ) Objectives are created in order to protect the marine environment from harm. DFO managers of Integrated Management and Marine Protected Area Plans work with scientists and others to determine what objectives will best help protect certain areas in the ocean. These objectives could include keeping sewage concentration below a certain level or keeping the concentration of nutrients below a certain level. MEQ objectives help us to monitor the health of our oceans.

National Marine Conservation Areas

Canada has over 243,000 km of coastline along three oceans and another 9,500 km of shoreline along the Great Lakes. The ecosystems in these areas are varied, productive - and precious. We have a responsibility to protect examples of this marine and freshwater heritage for today and tomorrow.

Parks Canada is responsible for setting up a national system of marine protected areas, the National Marine Conservation Areas Program, to represent the full range of marine ecosystems found in Canada's Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans, and the Great Lakes.

NMCAs are protected from such activities as ocean dumping, undersea mining, and oil and gas exploration and development. They include zones of high protection as well as zones where activities such as fishing are permitted, with conservation of the ecosystem as the main goal.

The NMCA Program is designed to:

• represent the diversity of Canada's oceanic and Great Lakes environments
• encourage marine research and ecological monitoring
• protect depleted, vulnerable, threatened or endangered marine species and their habitats
• provide for marine interpretation and recreation
• contribute to a growing worldwide network of marine protected areas

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For more information, visit:

Parks Canada
http://www.parkscanada.ca

Special thanks to Parks Canada for sharing information used in the development of this section of the Big Blue Bus site.

Environmental Assessment Act

Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, federal departments and agencies must undertake an Environmental Assessment before:

• they carry out a project;
• provide financial assistance to enable a project to be carried out;
• sell, lease or transfer control or administration of land to enable a project to be undertaken; or
• issue an authorization to enable a project to go forward.

The goal of an environmental assessment is to reduce a project's negative effects on the environment as much as possible. The environment includes water, the air, the ground, and all living things with which we share the Earth. An environmental assessment consists of four steps:

1. Describe the project in detail.
2. Evaluate the negative effects on the environment.
3. Eliminate or reduce the effects on the environment.
4. Make the best decision possible for us and for the environment.

Since the 1970s, the Canadian government has carried out environmental assessment for all its projects. Here's an example: Plans had been made to widen an old road that crossed through a marsh used by migrating birds. The project would have destroyed the marsh. Following the environmental assessment, it was decided that a new road would be built to go around the marsh. The old road was covered with earth to grow plants.

Environmental assessment applies not only to major projects carried out by businesses and governments (factories, roads, etc.), but also to your family's own projects. Pretend your family is thinking of buying a second car. First, consider possible alternatives, such as walking, taking the bus, or car-pooling. If you decide the car is indispensable, choose a model that does not burn a lot of fuel.

Federal departments undertake on average 5,000-6,000 assessments annually. Over 30,000 projects have been assessed since 1995.

Special thanks to The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for sharing information used in the development of this section of the Big Blue Bus site.