AREA OF INTEREST FOR POTENTIAL

MARINE PROTECTED AREA IN PACIFIC REGION

Marine Protected Areas are established by DFO under the Oceans Act to protect and conserve important fish and marine
mammal habitats, endangered marine species, unique features and areas of high biological productivity or biodiversity. They
have a critical role to play in the protection and conservation of Canada's rich and varied marine environments and contribute
to the improved health, integrity and productivity of our oceans. By preserving our oceans, we are protecting the future of
those who depend on them.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to establishing six new MPAs across Canada
by 2012. A first step in this process is the identification of an Area of Interest (AOI). This
signals the intention of the Department to work with other governments and stakeholders
to protect an area. The AOI then undergoes detailed evaluation and public consultation
before a decision to formally designate the MPA is made.

The globally unique Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs within the
Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) are currently under
consideration to join the existing and potential network of MPAs in Canada’s Pacific
waters.

Hecate Strait sponge reef surface
(Heterochone calyx).
In 1988, the Geological Survey of Canada discovered four major reef complexes of
Hexactinellid (glass) sponge reefs in Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. These
enormous concentrations of glass sponges cover an area of about 1,000 square
kilometres and are an estimated 9,000 years old. Up to 25 metres in height, the reefs are
found within glacier-ploughed troughs at depths between 140 and 240 metres. The reefs
serve as “living fossils”; a modern link to biostructures that were common during the
Jurassic era. Today, however, while individual and small concentrations of glass sponges
are regularly found in the deep ocean, and occasionally form large communities, the
necessary ocean conditions for reef development are exceptionally rare. Reefs the size
of the ones found in Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound have not been found
elsewhere in the world, contributing to their global importance for protection.

The sponge reefs were identified by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as one
of 15 Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in PNCIMA. The
Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound sponge reefs are formed by three
species of glass sponges. These differ from other sponges in that their
skeletons remain intact after death, contributing to the ongoing creation of
a structure that becomes larger and more complex as new sponges cling
to the old. If undisturbed, glass sponges can live to be over 200 years old;
however, they are extremely fragile and easily destroyed.

Evidence indicates that these massive glass sponge reefs may be very
important for water filtration and as habitat for fish and other aquatic
species. Reef sponges have pumping mechanisms for trapping particles in
the water, particularly silica, which contributes directly to the growth of the
sponge skeleton. Preliminary data indicates that reefs may provide nursery
and ongoing habitat for a range of species including other sponges, Sponge reef surface (Aphrocallistes vastus)
worms, shellfish, bivalves and diverse fish species. Galiano Ridge.

There are currently two MPAs off the coast of British Columbia: Bowie Seamount and the Endeavour Hydothermal Vents. For
more information and visual resources on DFO’s Health of the Oceans initiative program, and on the Hecate Strait/Queen
Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reef Complexes, please visit http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/oceans-eng.htm