Various groups and community members in the region of Bonne Bay, NL, such as Friends of Bonne Bay, town councils, residents, and business owners, are mobilizing to protect their valued marine environment and resources. This past year (2019), CPAWS-NL (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Newfoundland and Labrador), working with Friends of Bonne Bay and Sea Blue (a national coalition of not-for-profits focused on national marine protection targets), worked toward bridging the gap between this emerging bottom-up community movement and top-down government processes.

 

The partners, along with supporting groups such as Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise, worked towards marine protection in the Bonne Bay region by increasing community engagement, and promoting protection and conservation management of marine fish habitat in the bay.

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With funding from Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise and the assistance of the Friends of Bonne Bay, CPAWS-NL hired a graduate intern student (Summer 2019) from Grenfell Campus’ Environmental Policy Institute to conduct research on the thoughts of local residents (both full-time and seasonal) about their connection with Bonne Bay. In 2020, the Friends of Bonne Bay will bring together experts from many fields to have facilitated discussions about marine protection.

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