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Hello,

Yesterday, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced the launch of the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk.ÌýThis Fund will award $55 million over five years to support recovery actions that address priority marine threats and support recovery in priority places for aquatic species at risk. The Fund supports a new approach to the conservation of biodiversity through targeted federal investments that enable collaboration and partnership to recover aquatic species.

DFO has identified two priority marine threats and seven freshwater priority places as the focus of this Fund.

Two marine priority threats:

1. Fishing interactions (includes entanglements and bycatch of aquatic species at risk)
2. Physical and acoustic disturbance (includes vessel collisions and marine noise)

Seven freshwater priority areas:

1. Fraser and Columbia Watersheds Priority Area (BC);
2. Rocky Mountains’ Eastern Slopes Priority Area (AB);
3. Southern Prairies Priority Area (AB, SK, MB);
4. Lower Great Lakes Watershed Priority Area (ON);
5. Saint Lawrence Lowlands Priority Area (QC);
6. Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Rivers Priority Area (NB, NS, PEI); and
7. Bay of Fundy and Southern Uplands Watersheds Priority Area (NS, NB)

To address these priority threats, and in all of these priority areas, DFO aims to fund key projects that will help slow the decline of aquatic species at risk and enable a leap forward in species recovery.

An invitation to participate in a webinar that presents an overview of the Fund priorities and criteria will be sent out in the coming days.

To find out more, please visit the .

Please note that Expressions of Interest must be emailed to our Regional Coordinator by March 22, 2019.

Should you wish to discuss possible project ideas or have specific questions about the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, please do not hesitate to contact me by emailÌýor by phone at (902) 407-8175.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Jennifer MacDonald
Species at Risk Biologist
Species at Risk Management Division
Ecosystem Management
Fisheries & Oceans CanadaÌý
P.O. Box 1006 Dartmouth N.S. B2Y 4A2
Tel: (902) 407-8175Ìý Fax: (902) 426-2331
Email: jennifer.macdonald@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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