For Immediate Release CNF Calls on government to deliver on commitments to protect Pacific Ocean Rinocerous auklet (CWS) OTTAWA (February 20, 2004) — On the heels of a report looking at lifting the Pacific offshore oil and gas moratorium, the Canadian Nature Federation is calling on the federal government to fulfill their promises to conserve Canada’s oceans. The report was released on Tuesday by a Panel that was mandated by the federal government to look at science issues related to oil and gas activity off the British Columbia coast. “The Panel recognizes there are large science gaps and a need to create a series of marine protected areas in the Queen Charlotte Basin. It is essential that these measures be in place before assessing the feasibility of lifting the oil and gas moratorium,” noted Julie Gelfand, President of the Canadian Nature Federation. The current federal process to review the lifting of the offshore oil and gas moratorium is at odds with past commitments by this government to protect our ocean waters. Two years ago, the government announced a Canadian Oceans Strategy that promised the sustainable management of Canada’s marine environment. Little progress has been made since the announcement, and no money has been made available to deliver the strategy. CNF asserts that Canada’s foremost priority must be to set aside a network of marine protected areas to safeguard the region’s incredible diversity of marine wildlife. “How can the government pretend to manage the region sustainably when they haven’t even protected its most important wildlife habitat?” noted Marc Johnson, CNF’s Manager of Protection Campaigns. Canadians have been waiting for over ten years for the governments of Canada and British Columbia to complete a protected areas strategy for the Pacific coast. The CNF is also concerned that the Panel Report fails to identify needed measures to protect area seabirds. “Although the Panel recognizes that the Queen Charlotte Basin is of global importance for marine birds, we are alarmed that they failed to suggest concrete measures to ensure that seabirds will be safeguarded from future oil and gas activity,” noted Gelfand. The Queen Charlotte Basin is home to 28 internationally recognized Important Bird Areas that encompass important nesting, foraging, and migration habitat for a multitude of bird species. Oil spills or discharges in the vicinity of any of these sites could be devastating to area seabird populations. Additionally, Canada has an incredible global responsibility for the protection of bird species in this area—for example, 80 percent of the world’s population of Cassin’s Auklets and 50 percent of the world’s populations of both Rhinoceros Auklets and Ancient Murrelets are found in the Queen Charlotte Basin. For more information, please contact: Marc Johnson Manager of Protection Campaigns 1-800-267-4088 ext. 227 Sarah Wren Important Bird Areas Conservation Biologist 1-800-267-4088 ext. 300 Background Information CNF's submission to the Royal Society Science Review: Biological Values of Important Bird Areas within the Queen Charlotte Basin (PDF 500K) CNF Policy Statement on the Proposed Lifting of the Offshore Oil and Gas Moratoria (PDF 100K) CNF press release March 17, 2003 The Canadian Nature Federation is a member-based non-profit nature conservation organization dedicated to protecting nature, its diversity, and the processes that sustain it. Our supporters include over 40,000 individual supporters and 100 affiliated organizations, including local and provincial naturalist groups. The Canadian Nature Federation and Bird Studies Canada are Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations that conserve birds, habitat and global biodiversity.