Les Îles de la Madeleine (the Magdalen Islands) are located in southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in a shallow basin with the warmest marine waters in Canada. The islands offer a stunning diversity of coastal ecosystems as well as a high diversity of marine organisms. Important populations of Roseate Tern and Piping Plovers nest in this region, as do species seldom found at this latitude such as American Oyster.

In December 2011 a very encouraging agreement was signed between the federal and provincial governments to conduct a 2-year ecological, cultural and economic study of the area to better inform an eventual decision to protect the area. The study was published in March 2014, but since then no new agreement between the federal and provincial governments has been reached to proceed with work on this project.

Photo credit: Jerome Spaggiari

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