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Central Coast of British Columbia

Reaching from the northern half of Vancouver Island to the bottom of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), and extending from the top of coastal watersheds out to the edge of the continental shelf, British Columbia’s Central Coast is a vast area with strong social and economic links to its rich and diverse marine resources. This integrated management (IM) area is characterized by steep mountains, rugged shorelines, large estuaries, marine archipelagos and habitats ranging from sheltered fjords to open ocean.

Key interests in the area’s coastal and marine resources include high value commercial and recreational fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, transportation and tourism. The area is also important to small coastal communities and First Nations who have traditionally relied upon its resources for food, social and ceremonial purposes. Today the Central Coast is facing increased pressure related to the expansion of many these uses along with growing interest in oil and gas exploration and development and the conservation and protection of the area’s rare and valuable marine features.

To meet these challenges and respond to local desires for increased governmental coordination and involvement in coastal and marine use planning, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is initiating the Central Coast Integrated Management (CCIM) initiative. The Oceans Act (1997) provides the foundation for this new approach to oceans management.

The Act calls upon the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to develop and implement IM planning processes to provide a proactive forum for effective oceans management. The Central Coast is the first Large Ocean Management Area in Canada’s Pacific Ocean to initiate a comprehensive IM process that will collaboratively define how the marine environment will be managed. The goals of this initiative are to better coordinate the work of federal and provincial government departments and to work with First Nations, local governments, and marine resource sector interests to develop and implement a management regime that will promote economic development while protecting the integrity of the Central Coast’s coastal and marine ecosystems.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has recently initiated several background studies including an ecological overview, ocean use studies, and a regulatory review of the Central Coast. This initial research will serve as a starting point that will promote increased coordination and collaborative planning and management of the Central Coast’s coastal ecosystems in future years.

For further information, please contact:
DFO Pacific Region, Central Coast Area
Coordinator, Integrated Coastal Management
Tel: (250) 949-8612
E-mail: CCIM@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca