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11 th International Symposium for GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zones Managementin addition to MPAs, “other effective area-based conservation measures” eligible for network inclusion may includefisheries closures designated under the federal Fisheries Act (Government of Canada, 2011).MethodsIn 2008, Living Oceans Society used integrated fisheries management plans (IFMPs) and variation orders forcommercial fisheries to develop a spatial database of commercial fishing closures for 29 different fisheries (Robb etal., 2011). These closures were overlaid with the boundaries of MPAs and the results showed that 99% of Canada’sPacific MPAs permitted some form of commercial fishing within their bounds, including 95 MPAs designated asIUCN type Ia, Ib, or II. Over this past year, we have updated our data on marine protected areas to incorporateMPAs designated since 2008, as well as the IUCN classifications. We also expanded and updated the geodatabase ofcommercial fishing closures to include closures for the 2011 fishing season, digitizing new closures where necessary,and integrate information on the rationale behind each closure, where it was available in the IFMPs or variationorders.The updated spatial data were then analyzed in three ways. First, we used ArcGIS and ET Geowizard’s ClosestFeature Distance tool to calculate the size and spacing of the current suite of 197 MPAs to determine whether theymeet scientific recommendations for network design (e.g., Figure 1). Secondly, we wanted to ascertain whethercoordination among the agencies designating MPAs and those managing commercial fisheries has improved sinceour original analysis was published in 2011. To that end, we performed spatial overlays and considered the numberand extent of the fisheries permitted within each of these MPAs to determine whether all of the MPAs that wereintended to exclude resource extraction still permit commercial fishing within their bounds. Lastly, we extracted thecommercial fishing closures established specifically for conservation purposes and overlaid them to identify whetherthere are areas outside of existing MPAs that exclude a high number of fisheries and therefore might be consideredas an “other effective area-based conservation measure” appropriate for inclusion in the MPA network.ResultsCanada’s Pacific MPAs were found to contain an average marine area of 74 km 2 though the majority of MPAs,approximately 75%, included a marine area covering less than 10 km 2 (e.g., Figure 1) The spacing between coastalMPAs ranged from less than 1 km to approximately 50 km. Not surprisingly, the two offshore MPAs, Bowie Seamount(Sgaan Kinghlas) and Endeavour Hydrothermal Vent, were the most isolated protected areas, by an averagedistance of 185 km from the nearest protected area.By examining the updated IUCN classifications (Day et al., 2012), we determined that MPA types Ia, Ib, II, andIII are intended to prohibit all resource extraction. 89% of MPAs in the Canadian Pacific were designated in thesecategories. However, the GIS analyses revealed that only one small MPA, Whytecliff Park, with a marine area of0.22 km 2 , prohibited commercial fishing throughout its entire area. Whytecliff Park had not been assigned to anIUCN classification. Portions of three other MPAs, of a variety of IUCN types, were closed to commercial fishing.The Bowie Seamount MPA (Sgaan Kinghlas), IUCN type III, allowed commercial fishing in 40% of the MPA area.Porteau Cove Park, IUCN type II, allowed commercial fishing in 35% of the MPA area. The Gwaii Haanas NationalMarine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site allowed commercial fishing in all but 3% of the MPAarea. This MPA had been assigned to IUCN type VI, which allows sustainable resource extraction (Day et al.,2012).Outside of existing MPAs, there were two areas found near the city of Vancouver, totalling 24 km 2 , that excludedall of the commercial fisheries examined. The rationales listed for these two closures differed by fishery and not allwere focused on conservation, such as a closure established for the commercial crab fishery due to navigationalconcerns. When only the closures established explicitly for conservation purposes were considered, no areas werefound outside of existing MPAs that excluded all or a majority of commercial fisheries.196