Coasts & Oceans

Background

Canada is the second largest country in the world – its land area is almost 10 million square kilometres. What is often forgotten is that our country also includes more than seven million square kilometres of ocean and more than 200,000 kilometres of coastline!

We enjoy a wealth of benefits from the ocean. Unfortunately, the way we use the ocean is often harmful to wildlife and wild habitats. The use of the ocean, its aquatic inhabitants, and its living and non-living resources is unavoidable. What is avoidable is the careless and unsustainable use of the ocean – and this is what we are working to end.

North Atlantic Right Whale

With increasing risks to North Atlantic right whales from entanglement and ship strikes, we are working alongside government and industry to better quantify the risks, and to develop innovative approaches to decrease the threat of entanglement and improve fisheries management measures.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is raising fish for consumption in cages that float in the ocean (essentially they’re open-pens). These are usually located in areas where they are protected from storms but have good water flow. As a result they are often placed in sheltered bays or near the mouths of rivers. CWF has taken a strong stance against the practice.

Bioblitz

With the help of Canadians like you, we hope to catalogue as much of Canada as possible so that we can make informed decisions about our land use, environmental policies and wildlife.