Maritime Awards Society of Canada

Marine Protected Areas and Integrated Ocean Enforcement in the 21st Century

November 23 and 24, 2009 | Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Canada hold the key to preserving a viable and healthy ocean ecosystem. Canadians need to think broadly when searching for cost-effective solutions for protecting the largest coastal resource on earth.

The inaugural Lunenburg conference will be convened in association with the Ocean Management Research Network (OMRN) and will focus on Integrated Ocean Management and Integrated Maritime Enforcement. The workshop aims to develop operational solutions to the challenges facing the coastal areas of Canada. Discussions will focus specifically on the waters around Sable Island on the Scotian shelf, Scott Islands off Vancouver Island, Digges Islands in the Nunavik Offshore Lands in Hudson Strait, and the waters of Lancaster Sound situated at the entrance to the Northwest Passage. In each of these regions, the development of MPAs and Large Ocean Management Areas present challenges for enforcement and regulatory agencies. The gathering at this forum of experts from many fields presents an invaluable opportunity for reflection and cooperative networking, as Canada strives to become a world leader in all aspects of monitoring and enforcing its national MPA responsibilities.

Over two days panels comprised of leading experts will speak on matters of pressing contemporary importance for the fate of Canada’s MPAs. The conference will facilitate dialogue among the following stakeholders: First Nations, Inuit, Metis, all federal, provincial, and municipal government departments, corporate entities, non-governmental organizations, coastal communities, and Canada’s ocean neighbours.

Participants will examine the current available technologies that can be used to enforce Canadian sovereignty in ocean space. These technologies will include a variety of sensors, such as electro-optics, HF Surface Wave Radar (HFSWR), LRIT, S-AIS, SAR, and space-based radar, among others. In addition, the presenters also will look at the latest enforcement platforms including Canada’s naval, coast guard, fisheries, RCMP ships / vessels, small vessels, freighter canoes, maritime patrol aircraft, long range patrol aircraft, ice reconnaissance aircraft, maritime helicopters, Radarsat 2, and other Earth Observation satellites – both actual and those in development. Canada is a world leader in the development of these technologies, yet as we move forward, we must develop more over arching management strategies that integrate data with knowledge gained from cooperation with First Nations, local communities near proposed MPAs, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The stakes in this cooperative venture are high, as Canada’s littoral space is subject to Canadian Maritime Law and the Law of the Sea Convention. As a consequence, the various levels of government and other concerned parties in Canada have pressing obligations to work together to find innovative solutions to the varied problems facing MPAs and neighboring international waters. This integrative approach informed the coining of the subject of this conference “Blue Power.”

The conference will be in Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site, at the renowned Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. The Lunenburg conference is a joint presentation of the Horseshoe Bay Marine Group, OMRN, and the Sable Island Preservation Trust. The Conference Secretariat is being provided by HBMG, with the assistance of Global Reef Fund.

For further information, please contact Richard Welsford, Executive Director of the Sable Island trust at 902.221-7117 or Joe Spears at 604.921.1122 or toll-free 877.777.7447.

Please RSVP to Joe Spears at Joe.HBMG@Gmail.com or kjs@oceanlawcanada.com

Conference details will be posted and updated at www.TheLunenburgConference.ca

Partners to date include:

• Atlantic Coastal Action Program
• Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation
• Canadian Artificial Reef Consultants Inc.
• Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, Dalhousie University
• Company of Master Mariners of Canada
• ExactEarth
• Frontline Magazine
• Karlsen Shipping Company Ltd.
• Ketch Harbour Institute
• Lansdowne Technologies Inc.
• Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie University
• Memorial University
• Nautical Institute
• Nupace Consulting Inc.
• Polarstar Expeditions
• Port of Bridgewater Inc.
• Roper Resources
• Straith Chambers, Barristers and Solicitors
• The Journal of Ocean Technology
• The Navy League of Canada

A list of participating agencies and partners will be updated on the website.