Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area
The Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area is found in the Western Arctic and is Canada’s first Arctic marine protected area. It was designated a marine protected area in 2010 and was a collaborative effort by the Inuvialuit, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, private industry, local stakeholders and governments. It is comprised of three subregions: Niaqunnaq, Okeevik, and Kittigaryuit, which together cover 1,175 km2 of the Mackenzie River Delta and estuary in the Beaufort Sea. The area was established to protect beluga whales and their habitat, other marine species such as anadromous fish, waterfowl and seabirds and their habitat and supporting ecosystems, and to preserve Inuvialuit harvest traditions in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.