The department says the reef was first discovered in 2021 and is the “first and only” known live coral reef in Canada’s Pacific, as well as the most northern known coral reef in the entire ocean

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    1•9 months ago

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    Federal authorities have closed Canada’s only known live coral reef in the Pacific Ocean to all commercial and recreational bottom-contact fishing.

    Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the indefinite closure came into effect on Feb. 14 for the Lophelia Reef, located in the Finlayson Channel of British Columbia’s Central Coast, about 500 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

    The fisheries department says the closure is needed to protect the “globally unique” site that is both environmentally sensitive and culturally significant to the Kitasoo Xai’xais and Heiltsuk First Nations.

    “Protection of the unique habitat of this Lophelia Reef and all the life it supports aligns well with our Nation’s world view and laws,” K̓áwáziɫ, Marilyn Slett, elected chief councillor of the Heilstsuk Tribal Council said in a written release.

    “Wherever these corals live, they help build habitats that provide nurseries, refuge and feeding grounds for other marine wildlife, and help enhance local biological diversity and abundance,” the CCIRA said in an online release from 2021.

    “It’s a very big concern, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to stop fishing in this area is because we have to take away all the stresses we can to give this reef an opportunity to survive the changes that we can’t control.”

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