BURSTSix coastal First Nations have signed a landmark agreement with Canada and British Columbia to create a major National Marine Conservation Area Reserve on the province’s Central Coast.
The signatories include Gitxaała, Gitga’at, Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, Kitasoo Xai’xais and Heiltsuk.
Both Gitxaała and Gitga’at are closely connected to the Prince Rupert region and the North Coast marine economy through longstanding relationships with the lands, coastal harvesting, fisheries, stewardship, and marine transportation corridors.
Leaders from the six Nations joined representatives from Canada and British Columbia on May 22 to sign the establishment agreement for the protected marine area, known as Mia-yaltwa Ha’lidzogm hoon, meaning “Realm of the Salmon, Home of the Salmon.”
At the same time, the Nations also declared the area an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area sharing the same footprint and name. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas are conservation initiatives led by Indigenous Nations that combine ecological protection with Indigenous governance and stewardship responsibilities.
National Marine Conservation Areas are federally protected marine areas managed for conservation while continuing to allow sustainable human activities such as fishing, tourism, and recreation.
The new marine conservation area, in the Great Bear Sea and Northern Shelf Bioregion, south of Prince Rupert, covers offshore and nearshore waters, islands, fjords, kelp forests, and estuaries used by First Nations, fisheries, and tourism.
Officials say the protected marine area spans roughly 6,700 square kilometres — an area larger than Prince Edward Island — although final boundaries will continue to be refined through ongoing consultations.
Gitxaała and Gitga’at territories include key marine areas vital to regional fisheries and marine planning.
According to Parks Canada, the agreement represents the beginning of a collaborative marine protection and management process involving Indigenous governments, federal and provincial agencies, fisheries interests, tourism operators and coastal communities.
Mia-yaltwa Ha’lidzogm hoon is described as one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems in the world and supports salmon, eulachon, herring, deep-sea coral and sponge reefs, whales and other marine mammals.
The announcement comes amid ongoing North Coast discussions on marine stewardship, fisheries sustainability, Indigenous governance, shipping, and conservation planning across B.C.’s northern waters.
Officials emphasized the conservation area will use a multi-use zoning system, allowing commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries, tourism, and other marine economic activities to continue.
The agreement does not introduce immediate fishery closures, but instead begins a long-term planning and governance process. This process will include future consultations on zoning, management, and marine-use priorities, leading to the eventual establishment of specific zones, policies, and operational frameworks for the area.
Details regarding future zoning, long-term management, and the impact on specific fisheries will be developed through consultation. These steps will involve stakeholder engagement, the review of management plans, and decision-making on future marine-use regulations.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada will retain fisheries management and regulatory authority within the conservation area and will participate in a future collaborative management board.
“This work brings together many partners, but it is grounded in a shared commitment to Wil Łooła Hoon, as it is known in our language,” said Lou Ga Gwelks (Linda Innes), elected Chief Councillor of Gitxaała Nation.
“For Gitxaała, that commitment reflects our responsibility to care for these lands and waters that have sustained our people for thousands of years.”
“Through collaboration with our neighbouring Nations, Canada, and the Province of British Columbia, we are building a strong foundation for long-term conservation.”
Chief Councillor Arnold Clifton of Gitga’at Nation said the agreement demonstrates what can be achieved through collaboration among Nations, governments and marine stakeholders.
“This is a common ground where all Nations, governments and stakeholders can agree on the need for a clear path to managing sustainable resources and to ensuring this area and its many resources will remain for all users for generations to come,” Clifton said.
The agreement builds on years of marine planning work already underway across the Central and North Coast through First Nations Marine Use Plans, the Marine Plan Partnership and the Northern Shelf Bioregion Marine Protected Area Network Action Plan.
The Mia-yaltwa Ha’lidzogm hoon agreement also forms part of the larger Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence initiative supporting Indigenous-led stewardship, guardian programs and long-term marine monitoring work on the West Coast.
Indigenous guardian programs typically involve coastal monitoring, ecological stewardship, cultural protection, research, and support for marine management.
Parks Canada says upcoming work will include establishing a collaborative management board and advisory committee with representatives from marine sectors and interest holders, including commercial and recreational fisheries and the tourism sector.
Subsequent steps will cover the development of management plans, stakeholder input sessions, and implementation of agreed-upon conservation measures.
Federal and provincial officials described the agreement as supporting efforts to balance marine conservation with sustainable coastal economies and Indigenous-led stewardship.
“The Nations of the Central Coast have been caring for these waters for thousands of years,” said federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson.
“Commercial, recreational, and First Nations harvesters will continue to use this space as a strong and sustainable element of the coastal economy, while allowing for the protection of key ecosystems and habitats that coastal peoples rely on.”
Several leaders also connected the initiative to current concerns surrounding declining salmon and eulachon populations and the long-term health of coastal marine ecosystems.
Chief Marlou Shaw of Wuikinuxv Nation said coastal Nations have watched “our oolichan disappear, and our salmon stocks diminish,” describing marine protection as part of wider efforts to ensure marine species continue sustaining coastal communities and cultures for future generations.