Fisheries committee  So if you create a protected area, can you profit from the stocks that have benefited from the protection? In what Philippe announced in terms of other measures, we are looking at existing area closures and we've brought in a map for you in the presentation that shows areas where we have closed fisheries in the past, and we believe that they can actually count as other measures towards our target because they were ostensibly put in place for protecting the spawning areas of a particular species, or also to protect the habitat.

Fisheries committee  As Philippe said, we start with oceanographic information on areas that are ecologically and biologically significant. So as we've been doing ocean research through our science program either specifically to research the ecosystem and the area, or as a result of stock science that we do, we gather that data and we refine it.

Fisheries committee  Yes, it is. It's a five-year program—

Fisheries committee  The concept of corridors of connectivity is one that you also find on land, when we talk about protecting a wilderness for a species that has a large range. We have approached MPA network development along the lines that Annette outlined in terms of establishing an MPA. We are partners with the provinces, the territories, and indigenous organizations.

Fisheries committee  I'm not well versed enough in terrestrial park planning to really be able to provide a comparison. What I can say is that, in terms of planning for marine protected areas, we do need to be thorough in terms of our consultations, because what is being proposed is something that is fairly permanent in nature.

Fisheries committee  “MPA networks” is a term that we use. It's a more current term. I think you'll find in the Oceans Act that the actual term that was used 20 years ago was a “system”. The idea of a network is that you're identifying areas of an ecosystem. In our world those would be bioregions.

Fisheries committee  The areas under pressure refer to the marine protected area network planning, which is a process that's been ongoing in our five priority bioregions since 2011. Under the national conservation plan, additional funding was put into the development of MPA networks in 2014. Each network in those bioregions is expected to report their plan over the next year or two and the sites that would be emerging from those networks could be identified as MPAs to meet the 2020 target.

Fisheries committee  The priority bioregions are the ones where there is significant human activity: fishing, oil and gas exploration, aquaculture development, shipping, etc., so when we talk about those five priority bioregions—and we can provide a map to the committee—we're talking about the Pacific north coast, the Gulf of St.

Fisheries committee  The way we've proceeded with the development of marine protected areas recently is with a combination of a core protected zone, where all human activity is restricted, and then we have what we call adaptive management zones, which tend to be around the core area, where, as Philippe said, depending on the conservation objective, certain human activities will be allowed.

Fisheries committee  It is possible to have that. Hecate Strait is one example where in the vertical adaptive management zone—that is the area between the top of the reefs and the surface of the water—some midwater trawling is allowed, or long-lining, safe in the knowledge it is not going to reach a depth that is going to affect the sponge reefs, but the activity can still take place.

Fisheries committee  Yes, we do an economic analysis in terms of the impact for all of these, in all five protected areas.

Fisheries committee  It's on a site-by-site basis. Each one of the economic impact analyses is done as part of the regulatory impact analysis statement. When we put forward a site for publication in the Canada Gazette, we need to do an analysis not only of the economics, but also of the social impact.

Environment committee  In the context of Aichi target 11, it is ocean-based, not freshwater-based. That doesn't mean we don't do marine protected areas in freshwater areas. I would defer to Rob to talk a little bit about what Parks Canada has done in the Greats Lakes and perhaps in other parts of the country.

Environment committee  One of the benefits of the investment in the oceans program over the last 20 years has been that we do have a much better idea, in terms of our scientific research, regarding which areas of the ocean are ecologically and biologically significant. We use that data we've collected and continue to collect, and we refine it in order to really identify the question of quality, which one of the other members asked about earlier.

Environment committee  The five areas that have been under development since 2010 would contribute around 0.36% of Canada's EEZ. The other measures that Philippe mentioned would represent a much more significant contribution, as well as, of course, the Lancaster Sound national marine conservation area that Mr.