Volume 6, No. 1

Promoting Cooperation to Maintain and Enhance
Environmental Quality in the Gulf of Maine

NAFTA commission sounds alarm

The United States, Canada and Mexico are facing a looming "biodiversity crisis" in which a large number of terrestrial and aquatic species and whole ecosystems are in danger of disappearing due to the combined effects of pollution, habitat loss and other human-caused impacts, according to a recent study by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an agency created under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Their report, The North American Mosaic: A State of the Environment Report, underscores the need for consistent environmental laws between the three countries and particularly for the cross-boundary protection of endangered species.

The report also stresses the need to eliminate financially "perverse subsidies" that encourage high consumption. It points to huge subsidies to support the fossil fuel and hydroelectric power industries and unsustainable irrigation practices. The report finds that at least half of North America's most ecologically diverse regions and particularly marine and estuary regions have been seriously degraded. In spite of environmental protection efforts this downward trend continues.

The study concludes, "North America's diminishing biodiversity has profound consequences. Because the loss is irreversible - species that are lost are lost forever - the potential impact on the human condition, on the fabric of the continent's living systems and on the process of evolution is immense."
The report is available at: www.cec.org/soe/index.cfm?varlan=english.

MPAs: definition and design need refining

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), charged with carrying out a presidential executive order that calls for expanding the system of marine protected areas in the United States, sponsored a series of public forums last summer and fall inviting suggestions from concerned citizens as to how the agency should proceed. The challenge for NOAA is to create a national integrated system of MPAs and sort out jurisdiction conflicts in areas where multiple agencies manage marine resources. But first, it must clarify the definition of an MPA.

Priscilla Brooks, director of the Marine Resources Project for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) in Boston said that people use the term in a different ways. In addition, government agencies use the phrase "marine protected areas" to describe a variety of ocean sites, from wildlife sanctuaries to areas that provide limited levels of protection to marine resources, such as critical habitat and fisheries management zones.

"Each have different objectives," Brooks said.

At a workshop held in Portland, Maine in October, forum participants identified broad goals that MPAs could achieve including habitat preservation, management of sustainable fisheries, minimizing bycatch take and adverse effects on habitat and preservation of biodiversity.

The CLF advocates MPAs as a means to reach the overall goal of protecting marine biodiversity, Brooks said. MPAs produce long-term benefits for commercial fishermen by allowing exploited fish stocks to recover, she added, citing the rebounding of scallop and flounder populations following the closure of parts of the Georges Bank fishery.

But some fishermen see MPAs as another regulatory tool that will limit where they fish. The fishing industry is already anticipating future restrictions following a federal ruling against the National Marine Fisheries Service. In January, a judge ruled in favor of environmental groups, including CLF, which argued that NMFS failed to control over-fishing in New England waters.
Others in the fishing industry are open to working within a system of MPAs, but feel the plan is still too ambiguous with unknown outcomes.

"We don't oppose anything that's good for the resource," said Bonnie Spinazzola, executive director of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association. But, she added, the fishing industry has not been fully integrated into the formulating of an MPA plan.

There has been "stakeholder input" but fishermen are not part of the "process," Spinazzola said, explaining the perception among some fishermen that environmental groups have had a leading hand in formulating where MPAs should be located.

There needs to be a better network through which to contact fishermen, Spinazzola said. "There needs to be industry participation." The lobstermen's association wants to see NOAA take "a careful approach" when designating MPAs and to select them on a case-by-case basis.

In a report submitted to NOAA's National MPA Center in Washington, D.C., forum participants recommended that NOAA use MPAs to address specific problems in the Gulf and called for public participation throughout the process.
"Everybody has to have a hand in the designation and design of these systems," Brooks said. "It's going to take a while to get this right."

Marine Protected Areas: A discussion with stakeholders in the Gulf of Maine was prepared by the New England Aquarium and MIT SeaGrant. An online version of the report is at: www.atlantisforce.org/gommpaexec.html.

- by Maureen Kelly

NB wetland conservation policy

The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy and the Department of Environment and Local Government have recently developed a proposed Provincial Wetlands Conservation Policy. The new policy, which will eventually be reflected in legislation, aims to prevent the loss of significant wetlands in New Brunswick and ensure the continuation of their important functions.

"New Brunswick has much less wetland habitat today than a century ago, and we continue to lose wetlands every year," Natural Resources and Energy Minister Jeannot Volpé said. "The Government of New Brunswick considers wetlands to be an important component of the province's natural environment."

The policy would apply to all provincially significant wetlands regardless of size and to all other wetlands in New Brunswick that are greater than one hectare (2.47 acres) regardless of ownership. Regulations enacted by the policy would limit development that impacts wetland habitat directly or falls within 30 meters (99 feet) of a wetland greater than one hectare.

Only four percent of New Brunswick's land base remains as wetland habitat, representing 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres). Wetlands are classified as coastal marsh (three percent), St. John River flood plain wetlands (seven percent), freshwater inland wetlands (41 percent) and inland bog (49 percent).

Wetlands serve a number of important functions, including storing and purifying water supplies, reducing the effects of flooding, recharging ground water, providing habitat for a large number of species, and providing recreational and economic opportunities for the population.

Each wetland type has unique values and faces different levels of threat from human activity including urban, industrial and agricultural runoff, sedimentation, residential development and recreational use. Coastal marshes are one of the most productive wetland habitats; over 65 percent of them have been lost, mainly due to historical land conversion for agriculture.

Copies of the Provincial Wetlands Conservation Policy can be obtained at any one of the regional or district offices of the Department of Natural Resources and Energy and the regional offices of the Department of Environment and Local Government. An electronic copy can also be obtained at http://www.gnb.ca/0078/reports/wetlands/index-e.asp.

Maine salmon are distinctive says NRC

Atlantic salmon in Maine are genetically different from those in Canada and there are considerable genetic differences among salmon populations in Maine rivers, according to a National Research Council (NRC) report. The report's findings support scientific analyses that led federal agencies to identify salmon in eight Maine rivers as a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act.

At right; Portland Maine, 1853. Courtesy of NOAA Photo Archives.

In response to a request by Maine Governor Angus King and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), a scientific review panel of the NRC, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that the wild Maine salmon runs that still remain in eight of the state's rivers are genetically distinct from the many hatchery strains that have been introduced into Maine waters over the last century. The panel said that the protection of these wild fish under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, currently in place, is biologically warranted.

The report, released in early January, undercuts objections to that listing, primarily by the governor, Maine congressional delegation and Maine salmon aquaculture industry, which asserted in court there is no genetic distinction between wild and hatchery salmon in the state. The preliminary report deals with the debate over genetics and does not address the issue of how important the genetic differences are or how best to restore the species. Mary Colligan, regional endangered species coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the next phase of the study will offer concrete ideas for restoring salmon runs. The report, Genetic Status of Atlantic Salmon in Maine: Interim Report, is available online at: www.nap.edu/catalog/10273.html.

River restoration grants

American Rivers is seeking proposals for community-based river restoration grants as part of its partnership with the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program. The grants are designed to provide support for local communities that are using dam removal or fish passage to restore and protect the ecological integrity of their rivers and improve freshwater habitats important to migratory fish.

Successful applicants will be given non-renewable grants to assist in the technical application of fish passage or dam removal. The application deadline is April 1. For complete application and eligibility guidelines, please go to the American Rivers Web site www.amrivers.org/feature/restorationgrants.htm, or contact Peter Raabe, river restoration finance associate at (202) 347-7550 ext. 3006. For more information on the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html.