By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A stretch of ocean off BC’s central coast, where salmon, herring, whales, sea otters and some of the province’s largest kelp beds share waters with fishing boats and coastal communities, is moving toward federal protection.

Six First Nations, Ottawa and the province signed an agreement Friday to establish a new National Marine Conservation Area Reserve in the Great Bear Sea, beside the globally known Great Bear Rainforest.