MaPP Snapshot stories and photos capture some of the people, local and traditional culture, economic opportunities and rich marine life and habitat on B.C.’s North Pacific Coast. Subscribe to the MaPP newsletter to get the latest MaPP Snapshots.

Collaboration Advances Cumulative Effects Management on North Coast

Marine plan implementation on the North Coast is getting a boost thanks to collaboration between the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) and the North Coast Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) —a B.C. government initiative that was created to address First Nations’ environmental concerns around resource development. In 2017, the two groups informally merged into one team to […]

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MaPP researchers narrow down ideal kelp aquaculture conditions

The brown, translucent fronds of sugar kelp that hover below the ocean’s surface throughout coastal B.C. and beyond are gaining interest as an aquaculture product. MaPP partners in North Vancouver Island ran a pilot study to learn more about ideal growing conditions for the brown algae, which can be eaten and used in fertilizers, biofuels, […]

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Five years into MaPP implementation: Expanded guardian watchmen programs are making a significant difference

  For many years, guardian watchmen have been stewards for the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Wuikinuxv, and Nuxalk Nations on the Central Coast. And for the past five years, each Nation’s program has been able to accomplish more thanks to MaPP, which funds two positions in each Nation with a specific focus on monitoring key ecosystem-based management […]

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New MaPP Study Offers Meta-View of Climate Impacts

  A recently completed MaPP study provides the clearest picture yet on how climate change is poised to affect communities and ecosystems. Titled “Regional Climate Change Assessment: Projected Climate Changes, Impacts and Recommendations for Assessing Vulnerability and Risk across the Canadian North Pacific Coast,”  the study was completed in February 2018 by Charlotte Whitney and […]

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Cultural and Archaeological Work in the North Vancouver Island Marine Plan

For two decades, Tlowitsis band member Gina Thomas has been combing the coast and forests of her nation’s vast territory on North Vancouver Island in search of cultural sites that mark her people’s rich heritage. One of her more recent finds triggered feelings of both excitement and frustration. A cliff dwelling was discovered in Tlowitsis […]

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Deep-sea expedition sheds light on need for marine protection

The fjords of B.C.’s Central Coast are home to an astounding abundance of marine life including fragile deep-sea corals and sponges and the rockfish they provide habitat for. While First Nations Elders have long spoken of this profusion of life, traditional Indigenous knowledge is now backed up by scientific data gathered during an expedition aboard […]

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First Nations Students in the North Coast Help Rehabilitate a Lost Creek, Learn to Fish, and Jar Salmon

In the midst of cultural revitalization program for First Nations students near Terrace, B.C., a dry, trash-ridden creek bed was transformed into a stream of fresh mountain run-off. As part of the program funded in part by the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP), students from ‘Na Aksa Gyilak’yoo School in Kitsumkalum, B.C., cleared garbage from the […]

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Protecting Marine Biodiversity in the Great Bear Sea

The next steps in the creation of a Marine Protected Area Network are underway for the Northern Shelf Bioregion. This is a collaboration between MaPP partners, comprised of 17 member First Nations and the Province of British Columbia, and the federal government. The Marine Protected Area Technical Team (MPATT) – composed of Canada, First Nations […]

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Pushing back against new aquatic invaders: Central Coast Nations take critical first steps

Four First Nations are partnering with the Province of B.C. to implement MaPP on the Central Coast through a coordinated response to three aquatic invaders: European green crab, tunicates, and bryozoa. Originating in northern Europe, green crab is billed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as “one of the world’s 10 least wanted species.” They’re small […]

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Haisla Camp Connects Youth with their Culture

Located just half an hour from Kitimat, Weewanie Hot Springs Park is a completely different world than most of us inhabit. Accessible only by water, it is a remote wilderness destination where Xbox and iPads know no purpose. It was also home to 17 Haisla youth for 10 days last summer as they participated in […]

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MaPP selects indicators to track changes in the health of B.C.’s North Pacific Coast

The Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) has picked 14 pilot regional indicators that, taken together over the long-term, will provide insights into the health of B.C.’s North Pacific Coast and help guide implementation of coastal management recommendations in MaPP sub-regional plans. Hundreds of potential ecological, economic and human well-being indicators were […]

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Many voices make for better policymaking and results

Integral to the MaPP planning process and the current implementation phase, has been the participation of many different individuals, groups and organizations connected in one way or another to the region’s rich marine environment. Otherwise known as stakeholders, this diverse mix of voices added much-valued input and authenticity to the creation of the North Vancouver […]

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At the mouth of the Skeena: A unique estuary

Originating high in the coastal mountains of northwestern British Columbia, the Skeena is the second largest river in the province and one of the world’s longest undammed waterways. It winds 610 kilometres from its headwaters to its rich estuary near Prince Rupert. The mouth of the Skeena is a world onto itself. Unlike most estuaries, […]

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Hunting down aliens: An international team tracks the spread of tunicates in Haida Gwaii waters

Slimy and brightly coloured, these aliens – otherwise known as Chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus) and Star tunicate (Botryllus sclosseri) – spread across docks, boats, gear and the rocky seafloor, smothering seaweeds, barnacles, shellfish and any other species in their path. Because of their ability to overgrow and spread quickly, invasive tunicates are considered a big […]

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Tracking cumulative effects

Growing up in the rolling savannah of Botswana in southern Africa, Maya Paul could never have imagined that she would one day find herself living amid the rain forests of British Columbia’s north coast. Yet that’s exactly where her expertise in strategic planning and engagement has led her. In January 2016, Maya was appointed cumulative […]

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Coastal Guardian Watchman training and ecosystem-based management indicator development

First Nations people have long understood that the use of natural resources needs to be carefully managed in order to remain sustainable. They recognize that species, ecosystems and humans cannot be considered in isolation – healthy environments and healthy communities go hand-in-hand. This has been a guiding principle in their relationship with nature for thousands […]

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Collaborative marine management underway on B.C.’s North Coast: A primer on the Regional Action Framework

The Regional Action Framework (RAF) is the result of intensive consultation and planning for marine areas along the North Pacific Coast of B.C., from Campbell River through to the Alaskan border. Its broad view prioritizes both ecosystem and human well-being, as well as collaborative and efficient marine management. With a 20-year scope, implementation of the […]

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