Canada aims to be a global leader in protecting the marine areas. Why? It's because we need to do this for our next generations. The impacts on oceans of shipping and other activities are only going to increase. By having 25% of the oceans protected, we...and recently, an agreement was signed that it's in the high seas as well, so Canada is well on the way to our 25% target in our coastal areas. What that does is that by protecting the seabed floor from activities that might disrupt it, we restore fisheries abundance, and those fish then spill out of the marine protected areas and make it possible to grow abundance in our fish and seafood sector, which is a very important priority for my ministry and for me.
On March 27th, 2023. See this statement in context.