What DOES THE GREAT BEAR SEA MARINE PROTECTED AREA (MPA) NETWORK Mean for FISHING?
A Strong Coast Explainer FOR People Who Work on the Water.
There’s a lot being said about Marine Protected Areas right now. Some of it comes from honest questions—and those questions deserve straight answers. Any change on the water is worth looking at carefully.
But a lot of the same claims get repeated again and again, often pushed hardest by voices that don’t fish locally, don’t live in the community, and don’t depend on this coast the way owner-operators in the fishing industry do. These are the same outside interests and corporate players who benefit most from business as usual—and from keeping working fishermen divided.
If you take the time to look closely, much of that noise doesn’t hold up.
So below is a plain-spoken, local west coast explanation of what the Great Bear Sea MPA Network actually is—and what it isn’t— for people who live here, work here, and make their living on this coast.
Just the facts. No spin. No scare tactics.
Decide for yourself.
Read the Original Sources

FACT #1
The mpa network DOES not shut DOWN fishING.
Contrary to alarmist claims by certain lobbyists and their political friends, marine protected areas (MPAs) in Canada are NOT blanket no-take zones. The Great Bear Sea MPA network here does NOT close 30% of the coast to fishing.
The Great Bear Sea MPA network is a mosaic of different levels of protection. Any closures within the network will be limited, targeted, and based on where protection actually helps rebuild habitat and stocks.
Protection decisions may be more stringent in areas that provide refuge to key species and habitats.Some restrictions may also disproportionately affect larger more destructive gear types.
That is because the MPA network is designed specifically to increase overall marine abundance, and support the long-term health and economic viability of our fisheries. This is not about shutting downing fishing, it is about locking in prosperity.
Key aspects of the MPA network design include:
  • Tiered Protection: Zones range from strict no-take (no fishing/harvesting) to areas with limited, sustainable fishing, or even community-use-only areas.
  • Critical Habitat Focus: No-take zones are strategically placed in sensitive areas (like glass sponge reefs) where bottom contact by fishing gear is damaging.
  • High Openness to Fishing: The majority of the network remains open to fishing, with management tailored to protect species like salmon, herring, and whales.
  • Collaboration: Developed with First Nations, industry, and government, the network incorporates input to balance conservation with economic needs, reducing impacts on fisheries.

The mpa network protects critical fisheries habitat so the ENTIRE coast stays fishable. expect greater abundance, not less.

FACT #2
Fishermen were at the mpa network decision table — and boundaries changed because of it.
Commercial fishermen and local communities were actively involved throughout the design of the network, starting from the very beginning.
Flagged problem sites
Pushed back on boundaries
Forced changes to objectives
Got proposed areas CHANGED
  • Flagged problem sites
  • Pushed back on boundaries
  • Forced changes to objectives
  • Got proposed areas removed or reshaped
That input mattered — and it continues to matter as sites move into implementation.
This wasn't a map drawn in Ottawa and dropped on the coast.

FACT #3
The real risk isn't MPAs — it's stock collapse.
No one on the water needs a lecture about this: stocks across the coast are in trouble.
DFO and peer-reviewed science show long-term declines in species fishermen depend on — including herring, salmon, groundfish, abalone, eulachon, and crab.
The MPA network is a defensive move to keep the fishery alive, not a theoretical exercise.
The MPA network is designed to:
  • Protect spawning and nursery habitat
  • Rebuild depleted stocks
  • Keep fish on the coast — and fishermen working — over the long haul
The MPA Network is about ensuring the productivity of marine habitat and the food chain to grow and restore long-term fisheries abundance. That is keeping eyes on the prize.

FACT #4
IMPACTS ON FISHING EFFORT are limited and short term — and NOTHING COMPARED TO THE IMPACT OF BUSINESS AS USUAL.
Government analysis estimates that about 8% of current commercial fishing effort could be affected in the short term.
That matters. No one pretends otherwise.
But compare that to the cost of continued decline: lost seasons, emergency closures, licence devaluation, and communities hollowed out when the fish don't come back.
The choice isn't "MPAs or business as usual."
The real choice face is managed rebuilding — versus unmanaged collapse.

FACT #5
MPAs don't replace fisheries management — they back it up.
Fisheries management works species by species. MPAs protect the places those species depend on.
Safeguard spawning and rearing areas
Protect critical habitat where fish reproduce and young fish grow.
Protect forage species and food webs
Maintain the ecosystem foundation that supports commercial species.
Reduce pressure where stocks are weakest
Give depleted populations space to recover.
That's why MPAs are used alongside fisheries management in places with serious fishing industries — not instead of them.

FACT #6
When habitat recovers, fisheries benefit.
Protected areas are where fish live long enough to grow, reproduce, and overflow back into surrounding waters. This seeding process increases abundance across the board.
That means:
  • More fish
  • Bigger fish
  • More stable catches over time
This isn't theory. It's been observed in working fisheries on coasts with conditions similar to BC's.

Healthy habitat is fishing infrastructure — just like docks, processors, and boats.

FACT #7
THE GREAT BEAR SEA MPA NETWORK: built for this coast, by people who live here.
The Great Bear Sea MPA Network wasn't designed to hit an abstract target. It was designed to optimize the mix and vitality of species and marine habitats that power marine abundance and productivity of our coastal waters. Read about it here.
Sites and protection levels were shaped using:
Direct input from people whose livelihoods are on the line
On-the-water experience
Local and Indigenous knowledge
Regional science

The goal is straightforward: keep coastal communities working, fishing, and viable for the next generation.

Bottom line
The Great Bear Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network is one tool — not the only one — to make sure BC's fisheries don't quietly disappear, while everyone argues.
This is NOT about ideology or politics. It's about keeping fish in the water and the people working on the coast.
The MPA Network is a solution that protects access, livelihoods, and the productivity of our coastal waters for all people who call this place home.
This coast is our coast.
If you live here, work here, or fish here—this is your coast.
Stand up for a Strong Coast.