Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc is expected to announce today a long-awaited Marine Protected Area for Canada's rare glass sponge reefs, found on the B.C. "The sponge reefs are amongst the most ecologically sensitive and significant parts of the coastline," said LeBlanc on Wednesday. It's a move years in the making, celebrated by environmental groups that have championed the glass sponges for protection. Glass sponges build skeletons out of silica, or glass, and some — including the species on B.C. A presentation to the sponge reef working group in November shows proposed restrictions around the glass sponge reefs, shown in light blue, and in the mid-water area above the reefs, shown in dark blue.

Source: CBC News February 16, 2017 13:52 UTC