Strait of Georgia to become protected marine area
Posted October 14, 2011 12:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A portion of the Strait of Georgia is one step closer to becoming a fully-protected marine conservation area.
The federal and provincial governments have announced the area will stretch from Haro Strait to Gabriola Passage.
Conservation groups are applauding the announcement. Christianne Wilhelmson with the Georgia Strait Alliance says it’s welcomed news. “There will be some decisions made about perhaps restricting use in some areas and not in others. That’s what a national marine conservation is, it’s not about putting a big fence around an area and saying, ‘No one can go there,'” she says, stressing that the waters are important ecologically and economically.
She’s counting on the new measures to protect killer whales that live in the waters of the southern Strait of Georgia. “I think one thing that has to be taken into consideration is the fact that this whole area is part of the habitat of the orca. The habitat is critical to its survival, so certainly the area has to be protected for the health of these whales.”
The marine protected area will not stop recreation fishing or commercial shipping. The only activities prohibited in the area are oil and gas exploration and mining.
