Marine planning brings together the people who work and live on the coast to decide how to use the ocean and its resources. Marine planning sustains our ocean's health and supports the many coastal communities who depend on it.
Now is the time to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to appreciate the incredible abundance of wildlife in B.C.’s waters, to play along unpolluted shores and to fish for a living if they choose.
The Government of Canada could prevent the decline of our oceans’ health by implementing our Oceans Strategy, a blueprint for sustainable use of the ocean that has already been developed. It is a good strategy that would enable Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to manage not just the fish we harvest, but the ocean ecosystem as a whole.
Marine plans should:
- be developed collaboratively and transparently with input from stakeholders
- have measurable and achievable outcomes
- ensure that development and resource use is based on sound conservation principles
- allow for sustainable development that increases communities' long-term health, productivity and economic opportunities.
