First marine refuge within the Northern Shelf Bioregion is established

Feb 07, 2023

Our oceans are vital to the livelihoods of communities across Canada. As stewards of the longest coastline in the world, it is our shared responsibility to keep our oceans healthy for generations to come. Working in close collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous communities and industry, the Government of Canada is protecting important marine habitats, species and ecosystems. These protections are critical to protecting global biodiversity, mitigating impacts due to climate change, and advancing our goal of conserving 25 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030.

Today at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Chief John Powell (Winidi) of the Mamalilikulla First Nation, and the Honourable Nathan Cullen, B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, announced fisheries closures and the establishment of a marine refuge, to help protect the ecologically and culturally significant area of Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala in Knight Inlet on the coast of British Columbia.

Marine refuges are intended to be long-term in nature to help protect important species and habitats. All commercial, recreational and Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries will be closed within the area to prevent impacts from human activity and to ensure full protection of the marine environment.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.