Marine Conservation at a Crossroads: Canada’s Reefs and Ice in a Warming World
By Mary Mahon
Canada has the largest coastline in the world, offering unique marine environments, including icy Arctic water and cold-water reefs. Similar to marine environments around the world, these environments are facing huge threats causing significant impacts on marine ecosystems, chemistry, temperature and water movement. In many parts of the world, the impacts of climate change and ocean temperatures are blatantly visible on bleaching coral reefs. Notably the mass bleaching starting in 2023 from rising ocean temperatures has been seen in up to 82 countries and continues with 84% of reefs involved in an ongoing fourth bleaching event.
Coral reefs are typically considered in warmer waters and with a flourish of vibrant coloured corals and reef species. However, in Canada there is a live cold-water reef in Northern British Columbia, known as Lophelia cold-water reef, found in deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, ocean ice has seen the impacts of climate change and increasing ocean temperatures in Northern Canada. These environments hold a significant place in Indigenous culture, an indicator for changing marine environments and contributing to the marine biodiversity in the ocean.
Threats and Impacts to cold-water reefs and melting sea ice in Canada
Climate Change
Climate change has visibly shown significant impacts around the world to an extreme that cannot be ignored. Climate change is known to have an impact on tropical reefs through coral bleaching, and this is not any different for cold-water coral in Canada. Additionally, climate change has shown to significantly impact sea ice in Canada in the Arctic territories.
Climate change has increased water temperatures at an accelerated rate, and in combination with ocean acidification, this collaboration can pose a threat to cold-water corals. Ocean acidification and the warming waters can change the water chemistry and changes in oxygen levels that lead to hypoxic conditions, stressing coral.
Canda’s coral reef holds cultural significance to First Nations communities along with significance to the ecosystem, hosting a range of dependant species. Cold water coral live in deep waters and are slow growing, indicating that the depletion of these corals can pose a threat of not recovering.
Studies have shown that global warming becomes stronger as it moves closer to high latitudes, to the poles of both hemispheres. These regions are warming at twice the rate of other areas of the world. Canadian Arctic covers around 40% of Canada’s land mass and is home to a diverse ecosystem and communities. Sea ice is of huge importance to the functionality of the ecosystem and the surrounding communities.
The combination of increasing water temperatures and high level of greenhouse gases largely contributes to the melting ice. Melting ice in Canada has the potential for a number of impacts, including releasing persistent organic pollutant (POP) contaminants held in the ice, such as PCBs (chlorinated biphenyls) and DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), releasing pollution to the water which is typically used for drinking water in local communities, resource isolation for Indigenous communities and inability to apply Indigenous knowledge, increasing boat traffic, increasing the opportunity for fishing areas and declining population of dependant species including polar bear, walruses, seals and narwhals.
Fisheries Activity
Fisheries activity in Canada has seen continuous development and changes over many years and has been of significant importance for coastal communities for generations. Fisheries activity has the potential to increase with melting sea ice, providing an easier avenue for generic boats to access. The impact of the increase in fisheries activity could reduce the resources for the coastal communities that rely on the natural resources, as well as causing disturbances to the wildlife and natural ecosystem. The increase in fisheries activity subsequently adds to the boat traffic in an area. The boat traffic can cause an increase in the levels of pollution excreted into the water, looping back to the rising levels of pollutants in the water and adding to the impact of melting ice.
Fisheries activity has impacted many coral reefs through unsustainable fishing practices. Bottom contact fisheries can catch anything that the net passes through, such as coral or any species living amongst the coral. This can be destructive and cause irreversible damage to many parts of the ecosystem, including coral reefs. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) proposed the Pacific Lophelia coral reef identified in the Northern Shelf Bioregion Marine Protected Area’s Network Action Plan as a Parks Canada National Marine Conservation Area Reserve (NMCAR). The introduction of NMCAR prohibits bottom contact fishing gear within the area, this is a crucial step in the direction of providing protection to the Lophelia reef.
Potential Solutions
Canada is attempting to take steps in the direction to address climate change through the Ocean Protection Plan and the Climate Action Plan. With the fast-increasing rate of climate change evolving, more drastic steps need to be taken to slow down the evolution of climate change and address the core of the issue. Including significantly reducing emissions, how fishing activity is operated, boat traffic emissions and coastal development. Efficient implementation and management of these plans and policies can show positive intended results of the policies.
Canada has the potential to increase restrictions and monitoring around emissions emitted into coastal waters. Managing the emissions through significantly decreasing the level of emissions emitted, along with moving to more renewable sources can still contribute to the economic value while decreasing the levels of emissions.
Continuing to contribute to funding for researching and policy development to source beneficial methods in sustainable transport, resource development and pollution management. Developing further research opportunities to monitor the core of the problem, how it has evolved, and valuable solutions to address the known sources contributing to climate change and fishing activities can open doors to a brighter future for communities and the oceans. Effective collaboration between Western science and Indigenous knowledge can provide effective conservation strategies and align with Canada’s reconciliation commitment.
Conclusion
A number of factors pose a threat to coral species and melting sea ice in Canada. However, some factors have been known for many years, and while preventative steps could have been taken in the past, drastic steps can now be taken before further damage or unforeseen damage is introduced.