The federal government has set up eight new marine refuges in Howe Sound to protect nine newly discovered glass sponge reefs.
Each marine refuge will protect one glass sponge reef, with the exception of one that will protect two of the glass sponge reefs that are close together.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, recently made the announcement.
Glass sponge reefs are unique to the Pacific Northwest of North America and were thought to have gone extinct until their discovery in 1987 by Natural Resources Canada.
Scientists have likened the discovery of these long-living and fragile glass sponge reefs to discovering a herd of dinosaurs.
Besides providing important habitat and nursery grounds for many invertebrate and fish species, these reefs also provide an essential water filtration service by removing bacteria and processing carbon and nitrogen as they filter feed.
The Howe Sound Glass Sponge Reef marine refuges protect the glass sponge reefs from all commercial, recreational and Indigenous bottom contact fishing activities in the area (prawn trap, crab trap, shrimp trawl, groundfish trawl, groundfish hook and line, and the use of downrigger gear in recreational salmon trolling).
These closures take effect in advance of the spring 2019 fishing season and include a 150 m boundary extending beyond the reefs edges.
The closures come after consultations were undertaken with First Nations, commercial fish harvesters, recreational fish harvesters and conservation organizations on measures to protect these glass sponge reefs from fishing impacts.
These included several workshops, numerous bilateral meetings with different groups, and extensive correspondence throughout the process leading up to the designation of the reefs, the ministry said.
This precautionary measure was put in place to address the uncertainty associated with the accuracy of gear deployment, possible impacts of sediment plumes caused by gear placement near the reefs, and to allow for new sponge growth.
Dave Colwell says
“Glass sponge reefs are unique to the Pacific Northwest of North America and were thought to have gone extinct until their discovery in 1987 by Natural Resources Canada.”
THIS STATEMENT IS WRONG! These Sponges were observed and photographed in Howe Sound years before 1987. I have even my own photograph to prove this but many of our local divers will concur!