Vancouver – The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, has announced close to $9.3 million in funding for four projects in British Columbia under the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund (AERF).

This fund supports projects to conserve and restore Canadian aquatic ecosystems by addressing impacts in these environments.

Projects receiving funding as part of the July 9 announcement include:

• $852,000 over four years for the Ditidaht First Nation to restore Doobah Creek watershed on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Community initiatives and an informed, natural-based restoration approach will address lost and degraded critical salmon spawning and rearing habitats.
• $1,818,901 over four years for the SeaChange Marine Conservation Society and partners to implement the Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea project though restoration, conservation, monitoring and educational activities that address the pressures and threats to important salmon.
• $2,924,899 over four years for the Secretariat of the Haida Nation to continue monitoring, adaptive management and restoration of historic marine-based log handling facilities in ecologically sensitive estuaries on Haida Gwaii.
• $3,683,027 over four years for The Kelp Rescue Initiative (based at the Western Canadian Universities Marine Sciences Society’s Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre) and the University of Victoria to develop and apply methods for culturing and out-planting giant and bull kelp in southern British Columbia, in partnership with local First Nations.

As part of the Oceans Protection Plan, AERF supports projects that contribute to restoration priorities in coastal and upstream areas that have a direct impact on coastal aquatic ecosystems; contribute to the development and implementation of aquatic restoration plans; and stimulate partnership with Indigenous Peoples, conservation groups, and academia to address threats to Canadian aquatic species and habitats.

Activities funded under AERF help to address the root causes of impacts on those environments, and help protect and restore aquatic habitat for Canada’s coastline, estuaries, and inland regions.

(Photo from DFO Canada)