Creating the climate for cross-sectoral support for Coastal Aboriginal Peoples’, understanding of aquatic resources, participation in oceans management processes, fishing and working in the commercial fishing industry and involving Aboriginal Peoples in decision making governance requires recognition, trust, respect, and commitment to partnerships.

The relationship between the coastal traditional ancestral homelands Aboriginal Peoples of the three Maritime Provinces and Fisheries and Oceans Canada is evolving. There remain countless other partnership relationships on aquatic resources, ocean management, commercial fishing industry and governance decision making to develop and maintain.

  • MAARS serves its partners by identifying, nurturing and maintaining predictable multi-stakeholder relationships throughout the Maritime Region.
  • In aquatic resources, multi-stakeholder relationships include: fishery sciences, research institutions, academia, government departments, agencies, policy planners, programs, secretariats, directorates and other transects involved with the Fisheries Act, Oceans Act, SARA, Parks Canada Agency, Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Sustainable Development Strategy, Canada’s Bio-Diversity Policy as well as building bridges with international aquatic resources bodies, conventions, protocols, commissions and more.
  • In ocean management there are many processes underway involving large numbers of stakeholders and interests, including scientists, ocean managers, environmental agencies, government agencies, communities, industry and many other ocean interests at the local, provincial, regional and national level.
  • In the commercial fishing industry, multi-stakeholder relationship prospects number in the thousands. For specific fish species alone, these include fisher associations, groups, unions, committees, and advisory bodies, fishery management planning groups at the local, provincial, regional, national and even international level.

There also exists the vast fishing services industry sector: boat builders, harbour authorities, fish buyers, processing plants, equipment suppliers, tradespersons, transporters, monitors, and many more.