The Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area, one of three in the Canadian national park system, located where the Saguenay River meets the Saint Lawrence River. This park is jointly managed by Parks Canada (Government of Canada) and Sépaq (Government of Quebec). It is the first park in all of Canada to protect a purely marine environment, and covers a surface area of 1,245 km2. The area that is now the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a part of the Innue Essipit First Nation's land claim, and a treaty resulting from this claim could impact activities that are practiced within the park. The region surrounding the park is an important part of the history of Canada, being one of the first points of contact between Indigenous Peoples and European explorers and the birthplace of the intercontinental fur trade.
The St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord meet to form a distinct ecosystem for the species in the park. Different species of whales in particular are drawn to the rich food supply stirred up by the mixing of these waters. One of these species is the St. Lawrence Beluga whale, which is endemic to Canada and a species at risk. The most popular activity in the park is whale-watching. The park provides a variety of opportunities on and off the water for visitors to see them. There are several human impacts that threaten the park such as climate change, noise pollution, chemical pollution, and overfishing, many of which are not fully understood.
History
The Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region and surrounding areas are home to a rich and important part of Canadian history. The land has long hosted an abundance of natural resources such as fish, game, and berries, that played a large role in the survival of nomadic populations for generations. The region was occupied for at least 8,000 years prior to European contact. Findings from many archeological sites confirm the ancient peoples' seal hunting activities, and there is evidence that the Indigenous peoples of the region were a part of a network that extended from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast. Over the centuries, subsistence activities and trade evolved. The region became a crossroad for trade between the Indigenous peoples of the region and European explorers when their fur trade was woven into the existing Indigenous trade network in the 16th century through the establishment of the first settler trading post in 1600 by Pierre de Chauvin. Trade between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Basque fisherman can be traced back as early as 1580. The Basque were the first Europeans to work in the St. Lawrence Estuary. An alliance between the French and the Indigenous peoples in and around Tadoussac was created in 1603 led by Samuel de Champlain. This agreement led to the establishment of Québec City in 1608.
In the 17th to the 19th century, Indigenous peoples relied on marine wildlife for subsistence, fishing for salmon and hunting seals and seabirds. They traded their furs and oils made from sea mammal fat at the trading post in Tadoussac, located at the mouth of the Saguenay River. The establishment of beluga fisheries began in 1701, until 1979 when beluga farming was banned.
In the 19th century, demand for fish rose due to a boom in the forestry industry that led to a rapid increase in the French Canadian population as more sawmills were built. As the population increased, the land was transformed in order to house the new residents, impacting the nature and Indigenous peoples who had relied on this land to support them for centuries. The Innu's saw a drastic decline in the hunting and fishing grounds which raised the first notions for land to be set aside for them in the form of reserves. The first conflicts between marine environmental users, as well as concerns for the preservation of those marine environments were raised. As the French continued to colonize the land, the region became a popular place for vacationing and sport fishing. In 1864 the first hotel was established in Québec City, setting the stage for the tourism industry in the Saguenay region. This was supported by progress in steam navigation that led to the rapid expansion of the region's tourism industry. Vacationers raised concerns for the impact that industry had had on the wildlife and landscape, leading to the first legislation to preserve salmon habitats in 1860.