Hatton Basin Marine Refuge
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On this page
- At-a-glance
- Biodiversity conservation benefits
- Ecosystem
- Management and conservation
- Research and monitoring
- Activity application
- Outreach and engagement
- Contact us
- Publications
- Related links
At-a-glance
Hatton Basin Marine Refuge
Location
Eastern Arctic and Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves Bioregions (Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador)
Size (km²)
About 42,459 km²
Percent coverage contribution to Marine Conservation Targets
About 0.74 %
Date of recognition
December 2017
Establishment mechanism
The area is closed to all bottom contact fishing through variation order and license conditions under the Fisheries Act
Biodiversity conservation benefits
Important species benefits
- Cold-water corals (that is, small gorgonian corals, large gorgonian corals)
- Sponges
Important habitat benefits
- Cold-water corals and sponges play an important functional role for numerous forms of marine life. They provide structural habitat for benthic and commercially important species.
Prohibitions
The biodiversity conservation benefits are effectively conserved by prohibiting all commercial fishing activities.
Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM) Protection Standard
All existing and foreseeable activities are assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the risks they pose to the biodiversity conservation benefits are effectively avoided or mitigated. For more information, please visit Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM) Protection Standard.
Ecosystem
The Hatton Basin Marine Refuge overlaps approximately 80% of the Hatton Basin, Labrador Sea and Davis Strait Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA) and approximately 20% of the Outer Shelf Saglek Bank EBSA.
The closure protects significant concentrations of small gorgonian corals, large gorgonian corals, and sponges as well as non-aggregating species such as:
- black coral
- stony coral
- hydrocoral
Conservation benefits are also conferred to benthic fish species and invertebrates, including those of commercial importance (for example, Greenland halibut, Northern shrimp and striped shrimp). Many species use the structural habitat for various purposes, including:
- spawning
- breeding
- nurseries
This area is the only known overwintering area for Northern Hudson Bay narwhal. The area also supports important habitat for other marine mammals, seals and high densities of sea birds (including depleted species, such as the endangered ivory gull).
Prohibiting bottom-contact gear can protect not only the corals and sponges but also diverse populations of other species of fish and invertebrates that utilize the habitat. This area can act as a natural refuge area that may contribute to increased species productivity, which in turn, could potentially lead to increased abundance within and adjacent to the area.
Management and conservation
A management plan is currently being drafted for the three Eastern Arctic Marine Refuges.
Research and monitoring
Survey tools used to study Marine Refuges and other sensitive benthic habitats in the Canadian Arctic
including Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ASTRID abord the CCGS Amundsen (left), box core (middle)
and
CTD-Rosette for seawater sampling (right).
Photo credit: John O'brien.
In the Eastern Canadian Arctic Marine Refuges, we are using unintrusive survey tools such as Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and drop cameras (cameras connected to a cage and rope that take videos and sometimes include water column sensors or water sampling equipment) to collect samples and imagery of the seafloor to evaluate the diversity and abundance of corals and sponges in these areas. Analysis of water samples of the sea floor provide complementary information that helps us understand these habitats, from availability of calcium carbonate, which cold-water corals use to build skeletons, to general biodiversity in the area by analyzing the environmental DNA (eDNA) present.
Sediments collected using box cores allow us to evaluate the quantity, quality, and sources of organic material that supply these deep-sea habitats along with the diversity of small, sediment-dwelling invertebrates that play important roles in carbon and nutrient cycling.
Research Spotlight
Dense sponge-ground (Geodia spp.) in the Hatton Basin Marine Refuge captured in drop camera
surveys in 2023.
Photo credit: DFO-Arctic and DFO-NL.
Dense sponge grounds such as those observed in Hatton Basin filter 1000s of liters of seawater daily and provide structural habitat for other creatures, but do you know how quickly they grow? This is difficult to measure in the deep-sea, but we will be using the ROV ASTRID aboard the CCGS Amundsen in 2025 to return to previously visited sites to hopefully gather the first estimates of growth rates and age for these large habitat-providing sponges in Hatton Basin.
Activity application
Please email DFO.EAMarineRefuges-RefugesMarinsAE.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca if you are interested in conducting research or monitoring in the Marine Refuges.
Outreach and engagement
Please refer to our educational worksheet and discussion questions that accompany The Arctic's Marine Refuges animated video:
- The Arctic's Marine Refuges - Discussion questions for teachers
- The Arctic's Marine Refuges - Worksheet
- The Arctic's Marine Refuges - Worksheet answer key
Contact us
EA Marine Refuges / Refuges Marins AE: DFO.EAMarineRefuges-RefugesMarinsAE.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Publications
Related links
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