Scientists urge feds to tighten marine protection rules

A Halifax professor of oceanographycurrently on a research expedition in theGulf of Maineis among a group of scientists demanding greater protection for Canada'soceans.

Anna Metaxasfrom Dalhousie University is one of 15 marine scientists who penned a letter to federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Fisheries and Oceans MinisterDominic LeBlanc.

• Proposed marine protected areas concern Nova Scotia fishermen

The scientists representuniversities from across Canada, including Dalhousie,Memorial University of Newfoundland and University of Victoria. They wantthe federal government to tighten up the regulationsaround what activities are allowed in marine protected areas.

Commercial fishing and oil and gas extraction are still allowed in some parts of protected zones, she said.

Now is the time to act, said Metaxas, as Canadanears the deadline itsetof protecting 10 per cent of marine areas by 2020.

"Nobody is advocating that we should close all ocean to all human activities," Metaxas told CBC's Information Morning.

"But if you think about it, if we close 30 per cent that leaves 70 per cent available for other human activities such as resource extraction."

Stricter guidelines for MPAs

In 2015, the federal government set an interim goal of protectingfive per cent of its oceans and coastline by the end of this year. So far, just under one per cent meets that criteria.

While Metaxas said it's important to balance resource extraction and conservation, there are some areas, such as the newly designated marine protected area in St.Anns Banknear Scaterie Island, N.S., that should remain off limits.

• DFO finalizes marine protected area off Cape Breton

"We should be preventing human activity in there and leaving those areas alone, so that they can provide the bio-diversity and feed the populations of marine animals for generations," she said.

While bottom-trawling and oil and gas exploitation are now banned in the area, lobster and halibut fishing will still be allowed in some parts of the protected zone.

Searchingthe sea floor

There needs to be better monitoring of areas that are already protected and those that should be,said Metaxas. That's what she's doing now in the Gulf of Maine with a team of researchers.

They'resending a remotely operated vehicle to the depths of the ocean floor to see if they can find certain types of coral. They'll provide that information to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to help plan the network of marine protected areas.

• Subsea camera to live stream a scientist's-eye-view of the ocean floor

Metaxas told CBC's Mainstreet earlier this week about the unexpected discovery of stony corals in the deep underwater canyons.

"These specific stony corals form reefs in deep water, at about 700 and 800 metres depth, but seeing those specific corals in that high a density was a first," she said.

"This is part of this, this is part of the exploration. You don't know what you're going to see, it's all new.... It's really exciting for us," she said.