Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is calling for project proposals to protect aquatic environments, with successful applications getting a portion of the CAD 77.5 million (USD 55.4 million, EUR 48.2 million) Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk.
Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson announced the call for proposals on 16 September, and the DFO said nine areas are the main priority: the Fraser and Columbia watersheds in British Columbia; the Rocky Mountains’ Eastern Slopes in Alberta; the Southern Prairies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; the arctic region in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Arctic Ocean; the lower Great Lakes watershed; the St. Lawrence Lowlands in Quebec; the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Rivers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island; the Bay of Fundy and Southern Uplands Watersheds in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; and Southern Newfoundland.
"Since 2018, the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk has helped our partners restore habitat and reduce threats for almost 200 species. That work is paying off, and our government is making sure it continues with CAD 15.5 million [USD 11.1 million, EUR 9.6 million] a year for the next five years,” Thompson said. “Indigenous communities and local conservation groups are leading this work on the ground. Coastal communities depend on a healthy ocean. Their work helps keep it that way.”
DFO said so far since 2018 the fund has provided CAD 120 million (USD 85.7 million, EUR 74.7 million) to over 150 projects across Canada, which help preserve the aquatic environment.
“Protecting aquatic species at risk means protecting the waters and ecosystems that sustain life across Canada,” Canada Secretary of State for Nature Nathalie Provost said. “The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk supports the partnerships and conservation work needed to help recover these species and safeguard Canada’s biodiversity.”
