St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area
Location: East of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Scotian Shelf Bioregion
Approximate Area: 436,400 hectares
Date of Designation: 2017
Conservation Objectives
To conserve and protect all major benthic (i.e., seabed), demersal (i.e., close to the sea floor) and pelagic (i.e., in the water column) habitats within the MPA, as well as areas of high biodiversity and biological productivity across all levels.
Prohibitions
Activities that disturb, damage or remove living marine organisms or parts of their habitat are prohibited, unless given an exception.
Why (environmental context for protection)
St. Anns Bank has the highest annual sea surface temperature range in the Scotian Shelf. Over 100 species live in this area including Atlantic cod, redfish, leatherback turtles and a variety of sponges, corals and sea pens. The St. Anns Bank is also an important migration corridor for fish, whales and other marine mammals.