Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area Regulations (SOR/2008-124)

Interpretation

• 1 (1) In these Regulations, Area means the Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area designated under section 2.

• (2) In these Regulations, all geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) are expressed in the North America Datum 1983 (NAD 83) geodetic reference system.

• (3) In the schedule, the lines connecting the points are rhumb lines.

Designation

2 The area of the Pacific Ocean — consisting of the seabed, the subsoil and the water column above the seabed — that is bounded by a series of rhumb lines drawn from a point 53º03′07.6″ N, 135º50′25.9″ W, to a point 53º16′20.9″ N, 134º59′55.4″ W, then to a point 53º39′49.2″ N, 135º17′04.9″ W, then to a point 53º39′18.0″ N, 135º53′46.5″ W, then to a point 53º52′16.7″ N, 136º30′23.1″ W, then to a point 53º49′19.6″ N, 136º47′33.1″ W, then to a point 53º40′02.5″ N, 136º57′03.5″ W, then to a point 53º13′59.2″ N, 136º10′00.0″ W, then back to the point of commencement (which points are shown as points 1 to 8, respectively, of the schedule) is designated as the Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area.

Prohibited Activities

3 In the Area, no person shall

• (a) disturb, damage or destroy, or remove from the Area, any living marine organism or any part of its habitat;

• (b) disturb, damage or destroy or remove from the Area, any part of the seabed; or

• (c) carry out any activity — including depositing, discharging or dumping any substance, or causing any substance to be deposited, discharged or dumped — that is likely to result in the disturbance, damage, destruction or removal of a living marine organism or any part of its habitat.

Exceptions

4 Despite section 3, the following activities may be carried out in the Area:

• (a) commercial fishing that is carried out in accordance with the Fisheries Act and its regulations;

• (b) recreational fishing that is carried out in accordance with the Fisheries Act and its regulations;

• (c) fishing that is carried out in accordance with the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations;

• (d) vessel travel carried out in accordance with the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and its regulations;

• (e) foreign ship travel carried out in accordance with the Coasting Trade Act and its regulations;

• (f) any movement or other activity of a ship, submarine or aircraft if the movement or other activity is carried out for the purpose of public safety, law enforcement or national security or for the exercise of Canadian sovereignty and

  • (i) the ship, submarine or aircraft is owned or operated by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada or by a foreign military force acting in cooperation with, or under the command or control of, the Canadian Forces; or

  • (ii) the movement or other activity is carried out for the purpose of an emergency response under the direction, command or control of the Canadian Coast Guard;

• (g) marine scientific research activities that are carried out or sponsored by a foreign government and in respect of which that government has received the consent of the Minister of Foreign Affairs under paragraph 3(2)(c) of the Coasting Trade Act, if the activities are carried out in a manner that complies with the terms and conditions of the consent; and

• (h) an activity approved under section 6.

Activity Plan

5 Every person who proposes to carry out a scientific research, monitoring, educational or commercial marine tourism activity in the Area shall submit to the Minister for approval, not less than 60 days before the day on which the activity is proposed to begin, a plan that contains

• (a) the name, address and telephone number and, if applicable, the facsimile number and electronic mail address of a person who can be contacted in respect of the plan;

• (b) a detailed description of the proposed activity that sets out

  • (i) its purpose,

  • (ii) the period or periods during which it is to be carried out,

  • (iii) its location on a map;

  • (iv) the types of data that are to be collected, if any, and the sampling protocols or other techniques to be used to collect the data,

  • (v) the types of equipment, if any, that are to be used during the proposed activity, including those for gathering data and, if any of the equipment is to be anchored or moored in the Area, the methods by which the anchoring or mooring is to be conducted,

  • (vi) the type and identity of every ship that is to be used to carry out the proposed activity, and

  • (vii) every substance, if any, that is to be deposited, discharged or dumped within the Area during the proposed activity;

• (c) an assessment of the environmental effects that are likely to occur within the Area as a result of the proposed activity; and

• (d) a list of every licence, permit, authorization or consent obtained or applied for in respect of the proposed activity.

• 6 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister shall, within 30 days after the day on which a plan that is submitted in accordance with section 5 is received, approve the plan if

  • (a) in the case of scientific research and monitoring, the activity is for the purpose of

    • (i) understanding the ecology of the Area,

    • (ii) contributing to the management of the Area, or

    • (iii) monitoring the effectiveness of the conservation measures being implemented within the Area; or

  • (b) in the case of educational activities or commercial marine tourism activities, the activity is for the purpose of increasing public awareness of the Area.

• (2) The Minister shall not approve a plan if

  • (a) the activity is likely to damage or destroy the habitat of a living marine organism within the Area; or

  • (b) the cumulative environmental effects of the proposed activity, in combination with any other past and current activities carried out within the Area, are likely to damage or destroy the habitat of living marine organisms in the Area.

Reporting of Accidents

7 Every person involved in an accident that is likely to result in any disturbance, damage, destruction or removal prohibited under section 3 shall, within two hours after its occurrence, report the accident to the Canadian Coast Guard.

Coming into Force

8 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.