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Arctic

Regional Coordinator

Regional Coordinator:

Doug Yurick

Chief, Marine Program Unit

Parks Canada

25 Eddy, 4th Floor

Hull, Quebec

K1A 0M5

Canada

Tel: +1 819 997 4910

Regional Statistics

Ocean Area (km²):	20,110,000
Number of MPAs:	128
MPA Area (km²):	388,300
Percent of region protected:	1.93

Regional characteristics

WCPA map-Arctic region The Arctic marine environment is a vast polar region covering nearly 15 million km²and spanning both the eastern and western hemispheres. It is eliptical in shape with waters from the Pacific entering the Arctic through the Bering Sea and exiting into the Atlantic through the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. It is also fed by several of the largest rivers in the world, including seven in Russia, and has an extensive shelf system that in places extends several thousand kilometres, particularly along the eastern edge.... Read More

Oceans, Seas, and Countries Within Region

Oceans and seas within region

- identified using the 'Limits of Oceans and Seas', International Hydrographic Organisation Special Publication No.23; spatial data available here

North Sea, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, White Sea, Barentsz Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, Lincoln Sea, Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean, Northwestern Passages, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, North Pacific Ocean

Countries within region

- identified using identified using VLIZ (2009). Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. Available here

Alaska (United States), Canada, Faeroe Islands (Denmark), Greenland, Iceland, Jan Mayen (Norway), Nordland (Norway), Norway, Russia, Svalbard (Norway)

Regional Initiatives and Tools

International Polar Year

Learn more

International Polar Year. 2008-09 is the IPY which is funding hundreds of research and educational projects in the Arctic and Antarctica. The results will greatly enhance our knowledge and data of the Arctic marine environment and its resources.

visit

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Other Initiatives

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Canada is establishing a series of marine conservation areas throughout the Arctic.

Norway is preparing a Barents Sea Conservation Plan.

Russia has been increasing its protection of its Arctic marine environment and has given added protection to several of its Arctic islands.

Under the North Amrican Free Trade Agreement, the Commission for Environmental Co-operation has identified a series of important marine areas stretching from Alaska to Mexico.

One of Greenland's major marine areas has been recently granted Heritage Status.

The Arctic Council (an intergovernmental voluntary arrangement among the eight Arctic countries) is producing an Arctic biodiversity overview for 2010 which will include a marine component.

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WWF & the Bering Sea and Kamchatka

Learn more

WWF vision: Restore and conserve marine, coastal and terrestrial resources through research, education, proactive conservation efforts, and collaboration with local communities, the private sector and government agencies.

visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/beringsea/index.html

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The Nature Conservancy & the Bering Sea

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A large, sub-polar sea, the Bering Sea, lies between Alaska and Russia and is bordered on the south by the Aleutian Islands and the north by the Bering Strait. Its 888,000 square miles support enormous populations of fish and shellfish, millions of seabirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl, and some of the world’s greatest concentrations of marine mammals including whales and dolphins, northern fur seals, Steller sea lions, walruses, seals and sea otters. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work and initiatives there.

visit http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/alaska/preserves/art19555.html

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