Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park
National marine conservation area in Quebec, Canada / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area, one of three in the Canadian national park system, located where the Saguenay River meets the Maritime estuary of the St. Lawrence River.[5] This park is jointly managed by Parks Canada (Government of Canada) and Sépaq (Government of Quebec).[5] It is the first park in all of Canada to protect a purely marine environment, and covers a surface area of 1,245 km2.[5] The area that is now the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a part of the Innue Essipit First Nation's land claim, and a treaty resulting from this claim could impact activities that are practiced within the park.[5] The region surrounding the park is an important part of the history of Canada, being one of the first points of contact between Indigenous Peoples and European explorers and the birthplace of the intercontinental fur trade.[5]
Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park | |
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French: Parc marin du Saguenay–Saint-Laurent | |
Location | Baie-Sainte-Catherine, Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality / Sacré-Coeur, and Tadoussac, La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada |
Nearest city | La Baie, Tadoussac |
Coordinates | 48°04′11″N 69°39′41″W |
Area | 1,246 km2 (481 sq mi)[2] |
Established | 8 June 1998 [3] |
Visitors | 1,070,634 (in 2022-2023[4]) |
Governing body | Parks Canada, Sépaq |
The Maritime estuary of St. Lawrence begin at the Saguenay Fjord this meeting form a distinct ecosystem for the species in the park.[5] Different species of whales in particular are drawn to the rich food supply stirred up by the mixing of these waters. One of these species is the St. Lawrence Beluga whale, which is endemic to Canada and a species at risk.[6] The most popular activity in the park is whale-watching.[7] The park provides a variety of opportunities on and off the water for visitors to see them. There are several human impacts that threaten the park such as climate change, noise pollution, chemical pollution, and overfishing, many of which are not fully understood.