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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTSWater quality monitoring and improvement.Department of Environment and Labour’s watershed stewardshipinitiatives and can serve as a model for other communities.Habitat enhancement: rock sill structure.Denys Basin: A pilot project torestore a watershed on the Bras d’Or LakesThe Denys Basin has been chosen as a pilot area for a watershed managementinitiative. The project started in 1997 when concerns wereexpressed about the water quality in the River Denys Basin. Oysterbeds were being closed, due in part to fecal coliform pollution, inwhat was traditionally one of the most productive oyster areas inNova Scotia.A number of programs are currently underway in the DenysBasin, with more planned for 2002. The Eskasoni Fish and WildlifeCommission and Environment Canada are carrying out a water samplingprogram and a shoreline survey to identify potential sources ofpollution in the watershed. A survey has been undertaken to assessthe potential value of shellfish if the closed areas could be reopened,and a resource survey is planned to collect information regarding thechemistry and currents within the basin. Mapping the bottom habitatsbegan in 1999 and will continue through 2002. Placement of instreamhabitat improvement structures including rock sills, diggerlogs, fording sites, and bank stabilization structures began on BigBrook with the assistance of Georgia Pacific Corporation.A wide range of organizations and community groups are committedto the project and its long-term goal of cleaning up the Brasd’Or Lakes. Equally important, the Denys Basin initiative is a pilotproject from which experiences and results can be applied to otherprojects in the region.DFO – Maritimes Region and the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry– Julia McCleaveSince the decision to proceed with the Sable Offshore Energy Project,oil and gas exploration and development in Nova Scotia’s offshore hasincreased considerably. DFO plays an important role in both the regulationof, and research into, oil and gas exploration and development.The Oceans and Environment Branch is the lead for DFO inproviding advice on the oil and gas file but it is very much a teameffort with all branches and divisions involved in the many differentissues related to this growing industry.Several oil and gas exploration, development, and pipeline exportsystem projects are currently underway or being proposed for NovaScotia’s offshore. There has been a four-fold increase in oil and gasexploration and development activity from 2000 to 2001. In June2001, the Call for Bids for nine parcels of land resulted in total bids inexcess of $527 million. The Sable Offshore Energy Project has committed$1 billion to its Tier II phase that will add three newunmanned platforms to its operations in the near future. In February2001, PanCanadian Energy announced it had made a significant gasdiscovery after drilling several exploration wells under the Panuke oilfields. The Deep Panuke Offshore Gas Development ProjectDescription was submitted to the Canada – Nova Scotia OffshorePetroleum Board (CNSOPB) in July 2001. This project, representinga work commitment of over $2 billion, is currently undergoing theenvironmental assessment review process with production forecast tobegin in the first quarter of 2005.DFO plays an important role in the regulatory process of oil andgas exploration and development. Many work authorizations grantedby the CNSOPB must undergo an environmental assessment. DFOreviews many of these assessments in terms of impacts to fish and fishhabitat as well as navigation. All offshore production projects triggerthe Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) and must undergoeither a Comprehensive Study or Panel Study. For many of theseprojects (like Deep Panuke), DFO is a “Responsible Authority” and isinvolved in the entire regulatory process of that particular project.Finally, the CNSOPB sometimes develops class screening or genericassessments in order to streamline the regulatory process. DFO playsan important role in developing and reviewing these documents.Scientists at DFO are conducting scientific research on theimpacts of oil and gas exploration and development and providing44 / BIO-2001 IN REVIEW
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTSwas formed to co-ordinate the flow of scientific adviceand respond to oil and gas issues at DFO – Maritimes Region.• The Atlantic Zone Science Advisory Committee for Oil and Gaswas formed to address scientific support to oil and gas issues inthe four regions of DFO’s Atlantic Zone.• The National Working Group on Oil and Gas (NWGOG) wasrecently formed to develop and recommend guidelines, policies,and common approaches, on a national scale, to help DFOassume, in an effective and uniform way, the responsibilities conferredby the Fisheries Act, the Oceans Act, and CEAA relating tooil and gas exploration, development, and monitoring.Jim Dickey, CNSOPB and Neil Bellefontaine, DFO signing the MOU July 2001.scientific advice to the regulatory process. Much remains to be investigatedin this area, such as the impacts of seismic activity on fish andfish larvae, the mapping of sensitive fish habitat in the offshore, andthe impacts of contaminants on the marine biota. Scientists at BIOare also playing a major role in research of environmental factors suchas sea ice, waves, winds, currents, seabed stability, and ocean climatevariations that affect offshore oil and gas activities.Several working groups and committees related to oil and gas haverecently been formed at BIO:(SACOPA)• The Science Advisory Committee on Offshore Petroleum ActivitiesIn July 2001, DFO and the CNSOPB signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) and Work Plan. The intent of the MOU is: tofacilitate and promote sound management of activities and measuresrelated to the oil and gas industry; to ensure the conservation andprotection of fish species and their habitat, promote biodiversity, andprotect the marine environment; and to ensure safe navigation. Thesedocuments form the basis of a strong working relationship betweenDFO and the CNSOPB.The growth in the offshore oil and gas industry represents a significantincrease in workload that will continue to grow along withthe industry. DFO expects an increase in requests for advice andexpertise from the CNSOPB and the industry and remains a criticalplayer in this field.Maritimes Aquatic Species at Risk Office (MASARO)- Jerry Conway and John LochIn 2001, the Species at Risk Office has co-ordinated a number of initiativesthat contribute to the federal/provincial Accord for theProtection of Species at Risk, and Environment Canada’s HabitatStewardship Program.These programs are designed to help the recoveryof species identified as being at risk of extinction. Specifically, thefocus has been on the North Atlantic right whale and the leatherbackturtle, both listed as endangered by the Committee on the Status ofEndangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Other species listed byCOSEWIC as endangered and under review at the Species at RiskOffice, are the inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon and the Atlanticwhitefish.In developing these initiatives, MASARO has consulted withprovincial governments, stakeholders, and with interests in theUnited States (including the Federal Government) as a number ofthese species are considered to be transboundary by virtue of theirmigratory patterns.AccomplishmentsThe North Atlantic right whale is considered the world’s most endangeredlarge whale. The existing population of approximately 300 animalsfrequents the waters of Atlantic Canada during the summermonths including the Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin on theScotian Shelf. The proximity of these whales to shore provides anexcellent opportunity to study their natural life processes. The goal ofthis research is to develop a better understanding of why the rightwhale population has not recovered to a sustainable level despiteinternational protection since 1935.Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in partnership with World WildlifeFund (Canada), brought together a number of stakeholders andinterested parties to develop a Recovery Plan for the North Atlanticright whale. The plan made 42 recommendations that may lead to thespecies’ eventual recovery. These recommendations deal with shipstrikes, entanglement in fishing gear, human-related disturbances,habitat degradation, population monitoring, and research. To theextent possible, Canadian initiatives are complimentary to the U.S.Right Whale Recovery Plan for this transboundary species.To co-ordinate the recovery program and to implement the recommendations,Fisheries and Oceans Canada, through the Species atRisk Office, established and funded the “North Atlantic Right WhaleImplementation Team”. This team is made up of federal and provincialrepresentatives as well as stakeholders; it identifies and priorizesprojects, reviews project proposals, and identifies resources requiredto carry out the projects.In 2001, projects have focused on mitigating ship strikes, fishingBIO-2001 IN REVIEW / 45
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