SWNB Marine Plan Phase II Update March 25, 2009

Team Secretariat Steering Committee 11 members Initial Secretariat membership has increased. DEnv formally became a member in December, AA in April. SC have met 3 times since December 2006. Vision Statement, Principles, Goals agreement to planning area SC membership Community consultation tools (how, with what, when) Subsequently a Comm. Sub Committee has been formed to oversee a media event which will escalate the community the consultations. (June..will discuss further in agenda item 2)

Planning Area Boundaries Lines should be flexible E: Saint John Port Authority W: International N: High water S: Provincial 5000 km2 Lines should be flexible As stated the SC have taken the time to review the boundaries detailed in Phase I. Initial public consultations have indicated a view that the plan should include such areas as the grey zone, the right whale conservation area, the Mus MPA, while others hold the point of view this should look at the whole bay. Those views are coming from the fishery sector who do not agree with separating a lobster zone or scallop area for example. A Planwould cover the area having an eastern boundary limit of the Saint John Harbour authority jurisdictional border and a western boundary limit of the Canadian ‐United States international border and from the high water mark to the mid‐bay line in the Bay of Fundy.

The Planning Area Summary Activities/Uses What we know…TEK, Fisher, Research combined but there are still a lot of user gaps: recreational and tourism, lobster fishery, Groundfish Purse Seine Lobster Sea Urchin Aquaculture Crab Scallop Weirs Bird and Mammal important habitats Transport Spawning areas (current & historical) (Graham, Campbell, Power) - lobster (red) - herring (dark blue) - cod (green) - haddock (light blue) - pollock (orange) Activities/Uses The Planning Area

Communications Web Site Questionnaire Public Meetings www.bofmrp.ca links/information/input/reports Questionnaire Public Meetings Stakeholder Meetings Public Forum Development and implementation of communication tools has taken a considerable amount of effort. Enhancing a web site for public use where stakeholders and team member can access information and tools relevant to the planning process A few presentations have been developed depending on audience but one that gives a visual of why a plan is necessary seems to work with all audiences. Requesting time on agendas and or meeting time with individuals takes time. The SC and I have developed a questionnaire which has been integrated on the website. The responses are emailed and logged in a database and exported into excel.  Security is one survey per computer.  It gives a nicer experience for the user and cleaner data at the end.

Expectations Predictability: Greater certainty and transparency for development Communication: Improved access and sharing of information/data Harmonization: Improved service delivery of government programs Reduce marine space conflicts –current and unknown

The Preferred Future of the Bay” –Towards a Community Based Plan for the Management of Marine Activities and Space in Southwest New Brunswick Bay of Fundy

Key Elements Recommendations towards a community based plan 27 actions to address the issues identified by the public Decision Criteria for the planning area

MRP Stakeholder Planning Forum –Key messages Overall support for a plan…not there yet! Good start…more details required Focus on communications, decision criteria, and the advisory council ‐‐‐show how they can work and how they can add value ‐‐‐proof of concept First Nations and Aboriginal communities have not been addressed

Benefits Provide a forum for discussion in the planning area Minimize red tape and costs for public (access to information) Evaluation of activities against a set of criteria for all marine users Conservation and sustainable use of the marine resources creating the climate for economic diversification

Benefits Enhanced communications Rebuilding public trust Building public understanding and knowledge (information sharing and transparency) Incorporating local knowledge in decision making via deliberations (Advisory Council) Provide ecosystem benefits and added value (i.e. protect key areas) Respect for and best use of key stakeholders time A ‘common’ set of criteria for all users (reducing space conflicts)

Next Steps A Deliberation Phase Steering Committee to focus on 3 key actions: Communications Decision Criteria Advisory Council Governments review and provide response to entire plan