In November 2016, the Government of Canada launched the $1.5 billion national Oceans Protection Plan. Canadas coastal marine environments greatly contribute to the overall health of our oceans. They are vital to a vast array of marine life, crucial indicators of global marine environmental health, critical to the Canadian economy and important to all Canadians. However, there is global recognition that marine and coastal ecosystems are suffering a decline in biodiversity and irreparable alterations to ecosystem functions. Under the Oceans Protection Plan the Government has identified coastal restoration as a key priority to addressing threats to aquatic ecosystems and marine biodiversity loss.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has established the Coastal Restoration Fund to address historically degraded areas and will support projects that contribute to coastal restoration plans; support the identification of restoration priorities; and threats to marine species located on Canadas coasts.

Potential priority activities of this new fund across Canada include:
estuaries
coastal watersheds
nearshore habitats
salt marshes
eelgrass beds
beaches used by forage species for:
spawning
fry rearing
shellfish beds
migratory corridors for salmon and char
addressing habitat needs for species at risk

Coastal restoration priority areas include, but are not limited to:
Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bay of Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John Harbour and the mouth of the St. John River, New Brunswick
St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Northumberland Strait
Bay of Fundy
Bras dOr Lake, Nova Scotia
Fraser River, British Columbia
Strait of Georgia, British Columbia
Skeena River, British Columbia