Conservation Biology​​​ in the Boreal
HOW DOES NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR COMPARE??​
The Past, Present, and Future in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland has historically based its economy on the development and extraction of natural resources. Most people think of the fishing industry, but both forestry and mining were also both huge industries for the province. The amount of protected areas in Newfoundland and Labrador make up a mere 4.5 percent of the total area, which is very poor, even in relation to the rest of Canada, which has almost 10% of its area protected. With the types of major industry present, and with such little area protected, conservation outside these protected areas is critical.
In the past, Newfoundland and Labrador industry really shaped our province. Excessive fishing caused the collapse of the cod fishery, and heavily exploited others like capelin, shrimp, and crab. The forestry industry has had a similar effect on the terrestrial landscape. The majority of the island, at one point or another, had been cut to support paper making.
As we move forward as a province, we are making some improvements. To start, the major industries that had the largest impact are on the decline. The collapse of the cod fishery and the closure of paper mills across the province should mean a decrease in logging, as well as secondary effects to fishing, like the damage of corals and vulnerable marine ecosystems.​
There has also been an increase in efforts to sustain vulnerable populations as of late.
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Just recently, a ban on hunting the George River caribou herd had been put in place for the first time ever by the government. The heard of nearly 300,000 caribou have declined to less than 20,000 in the last 10 years. The ban will restrict hunting these caribou at all times, as hunting pressures on such a vulnerable population may inhibit a recovery [2].
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​Another example is a voluntary closure of a marine area to fishing because of the presence of vulnerable corals. Deep sea trawling impacts the ocean heavily, both targeted species, and non-targeted species. Deep sea corals are affected very heavily by trawling, and are ecologically significant. Fisheries organizations have collaborated to create a voluntarily closed area south of Baffin Island that has high coral densities. Though this is only a voluntary closure, it is a step in the right direction [8].

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The province is moving in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. Conservation outside protected areas is important as as the majority of species aren't located in protected areas and are subject to human activity.