Oceans Protection Plan: The Importance of Planning Responses in Case of an Environmental Incident

Did you know that federal institutions must develop and update emergency plans to be able to quickly and effectively respond to an environmental incident, such as a hydrocarbon spill? Careful planning and information sharing are essential in order to coordinate the federal government’s response with other partners on this matter.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada plays a significant role in preparing the response during an environmental incident. The Department is mainly interested in the protection of marine resources and ecosystems, as well as the protection of waters. Its ability to provide scientific and technical advice on specialized topics ensures access to a sound scientific basis for a better understanding of the aquatic resources and ecosystems that could be affected. This information is paired with various data related to the use of the aquatic environment and to the management measures in force. When the situation so requires, for questions of human health and safety, the Department can also order the closure of fisheries. Finally, the capacity to monitor and to enforce regulations, along with the Canadian Coast Guard’s expertise, satisfies other elements of a response.

Review of response plans

Since 2017, regional coordinators have been reviewing plans in order to improve the Department’s preparedness during responses and to ensure the connection with the stakeholders involved in an incident. Their work includes:

• coordinating the development of tools, protocols, policies and standards; and 
• compiling and providing information and departmental advisories when an incident occurs.

Here are a few examples of relevant information to collect and process:

• the identification of at-risk resources such as fisheries and species at risk;
• the inventory of fauna, flora and habitats;
• the vulnerability of the environment and the species that inhabit it;
• the fate of the pollutant;
• the recovery and clean-up tactics;
• etc. 

All these data enable better planning and orientation of emergency responses.

Increase knowledge of the seaboard

To improve the state of preparedness, Fisheries and Oceans Canada orchestrates various projects to increase knowledge of the seaboard. Using image analysis, the Department’s teams are working on, among other things, the itemization of vegetation and the identification of the types of seabed found in a section of the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. A census of socioeconomic coastal and marine data in Quebec has also been completed: fisheries, recreotourism activities, protected areas, heritage sites and infrastructures are among the many themes that this project seeks to document and map.

This information will be used to describe and map coastal habitats and to develop tools to support decision-making. These tools could be used by all actors playing a role in the field of environmental response in case of hydrocarbon spills.

Olivier Parent
Ecosystems Management