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- The Centre for Marine Biodiversity (CMB) is a non-profit society and was
established in the Fall of 2000 in order to enhance our scientific capacity in
support of the protection of marine biodiversity, with a focus on the Northwest
Atlantic.
At http://www.marinebiodiversity.ca/ you will find general information
concerning marine biodiversity, biographies of scientists and students working
in the field of marine biodiversity, scientific reports of these projects as
well as projects taken on by the Centre, reference lists, spectacular photos,
databases, relevant links and much more. Although the CMB has an initial focus
on the Northwest Atlantic, there is some information concerning both the
Pacific and Arctic environments.
The CMB was formed in response to the 1992 Convention for Biological Diversity
(CBD) and FAO's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, which have established
an international framework for broader conservation objectives for the
management of ocean use activities. Consistent with these international legal
instruments, the 1997 Oceans Act defines Canada's obligation to incorporate
ecosystem considerations within an Oceans Management Strategy (OMS). In
addition, the pending Species-At-Risk legislation (SARA) addresses a high
profile component of these broader conservation objectives. Under the new
legislation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is to take the lead in developing the
OMS, and will be responsible for protection of marine species under SARA.
There is a need to develop new partnerships to enhance our capacity for the
provision of scientific advice in support of integrated management of ocean
industries (e.g. oil and gas, marine transportation, aquaculture, eco-tourism
and fisheries). Although there are many strengths, present research and
advisory activities are scattered and uncoordinated, and the advisory process
is of a "stovepipe" nature. There are critical gaps in research expertise that
need to be addressed, as well as an expansion of oceans monitoring to include
additional indicators of relevance to ecosystem objectives of integrated
management. A better understanding of the resilience of marine ecosystems is
required in order to assess anthropogenic impacts such as pollution, fishing
practices, aquaculture and the introduction of alien species on biodiversity.
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