Senate to be warned Canada responsible for unique ocean reefs

Posted on November 20, 2006

Ottawa -- A world leading paleontologist will advise the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans tonight that it is up to Canada to protect the earth's last known glass sponge reefs, found nearly two decades ago off British Columbia's coast.

Dr Manfred Krautter of the University of Stuttgart is in Canada at the invitation of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), which has advocated that the federal government create a National Marine Protected Area for the unique sponge reefs for the past five years.

Thought to have become extinct during the Jurassic Era, the Hexactinellid sponge reefs, also known as glass sponges, are 9,000 years old and found deep in BC's Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. Smaller reefs have more recently been discovered in the southern Strait of Georgia and the Sunshine Coast.

"I was totally electrified when I read about them in a scientific paper. They described a living dinosaur," says Dr. Krautter, of the University of Stuttgart.

Some of the reefs have already been harmed by groundfish trawlers. Although temporarily protected by trawl fishing closures, the regulations must be renewed yearly and CPAWS fears that over time, the closures could be lifted or other industrial activities such as offshore oil and gas development could harm the delicate glass sponges.

"Canadians are waiting for this government to show environmental leadership. Here's a golden opportunity for Minister Loyola Hearn to act decisively. With permanent protection, these sponge reefs -- that also provide important habitat for such threatened species as rockfish -- will meet every criteria for UNESCO World Heritage status, says Sabine Jessen, CPAWS' oceans and freshwater conservation program manager.

CPAWS is also urging the federal government to increase funding and efforts to establish a national network of marine protected areas by 2012 as it has committed under international agreements.

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Contact: Ellen Adelberg, CPAWS Communications Director (613) 569-7226 ext 234

View CPAWS Submission to the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, November 21, 2006
(PDF, 90KB, opens in new window)