What Canada Oceans Act: Maritime Zones, Integrated Management and Marine Protected Areas requires
The Oceans Act (S.C. 1996, c. 31) establishes Canada's maritime zones in domestic law and gives the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans the lead role in the integrated management and conservation of Canada's estuarine, coastal and marine waters. Section 4 provides that the territorial sea of Canada is a belt of sea whose outer limit is 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines. Section 13 establishes the exclusive economic zone as the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea extending to 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines, within which Canada exercises sovereign rights over living and non-living resources. Section 17 defines the continental shelf as the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend throughout the natural prolongation of Canada's land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin or to 200 nautical miles where the margin does not extend that far. Section 29 directs the Minister to lead the development and implementation of a national strategy for the management of estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems, and section 31 directs the Minister to lead and facilitate the development and implementation of plans for the integrated management of all activities or measures in or affecting estuaries, coastal waters and marine waters. Section 35(1) defines a marine protected area as an area of the sea designated for special protection, including for the conservation of commercial and non-commercial fishery resources and of endangered or threatened marine species and their habitats. Section 40(1) confers on the Minister authority over the federal government's policies and programs respecting oceans. The Act is the statutory basis on which Canada asserts its maritime jurisdiction, designates marine protected areas and applies ecosystem-based integrated ocean management.
Pillar: Water & Environmental Resources · Authority: Parliament of Canada / Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/O-2.4/FullText.html
SHA-256 integrity: bade7b7a3f6bf59223af320f79880f9283e7106be9814e1096ad22816174fde1
Primary Citations — 8 traced to source
- Oceans Act, S.C. 1996, c. 31, section 4 - the territorial sea of Canada is a belt of sea with an outer limit 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines.
- Oceans Act, S.C. 1996, c. 31, section 13 - the exclusive economic zone extends to 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines.
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