Oceans North: Conservation in partnership with Indigenous and coastal communities

Canada’s oceans face many threats, including overfishing, high-impact fishing gear, offshore oil and gas development, shipping, pollution, and climate change. To mitigate and overcome these dangers, Oceans North supports marine conservation and climate action in partnership with Indigenous and coastal communities.

Combining evidence-based policy and community-driven conservation, Oceans North has helped to realize significant ocean wins, including:

• the passage of a modernized Fisheries Act and updated Oceans Act in 2019;
• the 2022 release of strong regulations that require fisheries rebuilding;
• ecosystem protection (for example, the designation of the 43,976 km² Eastern Canyons Marine Refuge in 2022); and
• improved management of forage fish, which form the base of the marine food chain.

Eastern Canyons (DFO | Dalhousie University)

Working collaboratively, Oceans North is helping to create a sustainable future that supports healthy communities and a healthy ocean.

Since 2018, the Donner Canadian Foundation, as part of its marine conservation focus, has been supporting Oceans North as it advocates for improved marine policies and fisheries management in Atlantic Canada and partners with Mi’kmaq communities to further their priorities. Working collaboratively with the fishing industry, coastal communities, Indigenous groups, resource users, research institutions, and other environmental groups, Oceans North is helping to create a sustainable future that supports healthy communities and a healthy ocean.