Managing the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Canada's commitment to Integrated Management (IM) was first formulated in the Oceans Act, which came into force in 1997. As outlined in the Act, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, on behalf of the Government of Canada, leads the implementation of IM. Canada's Oceans Strategy, the Oceans Action Plan and the Policy and Operational Framework for Integrated Management of Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Environments in Canada provide the policy context for IM in Canada.

IM is central to Canada's Oceans Strategy, as it contains commitments to the long-term objective of developing large-scale and local IM plans for all of Canada's oceans, starting with priority areas and building on experience as resources and capacity permit.

The Oceans Action Plan identifies Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) (including the Gulf of St. Lawrence Integrated Management area) to serve as pilots to test and apply science based management tools specifically developed for advancing and implementing ecosystem-based IM in the Canadian marine environment.

The Policy and Operational Framework for Integrated Management of Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Environments in Canada is particularly important as it explains how IMis to be developed through an ecosystem-based approach in the LOMAs. This document informs on the legislative context, the concept of IM, the guiding principles, the governance model (IM through collaboration and IM through co-management), management by areas (Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) and coastal management areas (CMAs)), IMBodies and the IM Planning Process.

The governance, regulation and management of activities within and surrounding the Gulf are shared between a wide variety of government departments and agencies. These include the Government of Canada, the provinces surrounding the Gulf and numerous municipalities, counties, economic development boards, authorities and agencies. In addition, Aboriginal communities, industry groups and non-governmental organizations are either involved in or have an interest in the use and management of resources within the Gulf and its coastal, estuarine and marine areas. For the success of IM, it will be important to identify and involve as many of these stakeholders as possible.