Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development Minister Neil LeClair welcomed students from Souris to Basin Head today in recognition of World Oceans Day. The event was organized in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
“Living in a province completely surrounded by water, the people of Prince Edward Island are acutely aware of the importance of oceans and the great diversity of life they sustain,” said Minister LeClair. “World Oceans Day provides an excellent opportunity to increase our understanding of oceans and how to better conserve and protect them.”
June 8 has been declared as World Oceans Day by the United Nations. The Minister said the disaster currently taking place in the Gulf of Mexico is a sombre reminder of the need to protect oceans, which account for 70 percent of the surface of the earth.
The events in Basin Head include a presentation on oceans by Randy Power of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Fred Cheverie of the Souris and Area Wildlife Association. Students will tour the Basin Head Fisheries Museum and participate in a beach seine. They will be creating artwork, stories and poems about what oceans mean to them.
Basin Head has been designated as a marine protected area by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans under the Oceans Act. It contains many different types of animal and plant life, including a unique strain of Irish moss that is not found anywhere else in the world.
Minister LeClair said that ocean-related activities contribute more than $350 million annually to the provincial economy.