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Executive Summary

This conservation strategy was prepared for Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service with the Sable Island Conservation Strategy Advisory Committee. This committee was composed of representatives of Dalhousie University, government and non-government organizations with interests in, and knowledge of, Sable Island. This document defines the environmental limits within which future activities should proceed. The strategy also serves to define the various conservation interests for the island both biological and physical, and therefore provide a basis for the establishment of long-term development principles.

In developing the strategy a number of principles were followed, including recognition that a permanent human presence on the island is advisable if a number of continuing and proposed activities will be accommodated. Many of the proposed activities such as the development of eco-tourism will require this resident presence in order to support necessary infrastructure.

Sable Island, a 41 kilometre long island composed of sand, is the only emergent portion of Sable Island Bank. It is located approximately 290 kilometres Southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The island has a diverse flora and fauna and is stabilised, primarily, by its vegetation cover and the oceanic currents. The best known component of its fauna is a population of feral horses which were introduced sometime shortly after 1738 and whose numbers now range between 150 and 400 individuals. The island supports numerous migrant, and small number of breeding bird species, and has status as a federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service. Sable is the only breeding ground of the rare Ipswich Sparrow, and is also home to small breeding numbers of the threatened Roseate Tern.

The world’s largest congregation of breeding Grey Seals which pup between late December and February are found here. There is also a small resident population of Harbour Seals which pup from mid-May to mid-June. The latter species of seals have been in decline.

There has been a continuous human presence on the island since 1801 when the colonial government in Nova Scotia founded a life-saving establishment in an effort to reduce the suffering and loss of life and cargo that resulted from the frequent shipwrecks on and near Sable's shores. At present access to Sable Island is regulated under the legislative authority of the Canada Shipping Act, part xi (ss. 581-589) mandated to the Canadian Coast Guard, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

The present administrative focus of the island is the operation of an upper air weather station by Environment Canada's Atmospheric Environment Branch (AEB). From the perspective of conservation, AEB staff have come to serve as de facto wardens of Sable Island by enforcing the applicable government regulations and monitoring the activities of individuals on the island. Monitoring has primarily involved ensuring that behaviour falls within the acceptable environmental limits as required by the applicable regulations.

Although present activities have little environmental impact, it is likely that the pattern of human activity on the island will change in the near future. The greatest change in use will probably be the initiation of organised tourism to the island. If improperly managed, tourism could have a significant environmental impact; if managed wisely it could contribute to the welfare and conservation of the island. A conservation strategy for Sable Island is required to plan the preservation of its biological diversity, and to manage and minimise the impacts of human use.

The establishment of and concurrence with this Conservation Strategy by the primary parties with vested interests in Sable Island is the first step to ensuring that the natural heritage of the island is well outlined and recognised. It provides a solid foundation upon which to take the next steps of developing a comprehensive management plan for the island.

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