Rich in nature and history, the marine park hosts an exceptional biodiversity. Explore this section and get to know the park and its riches.
Recognizing the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife, plant life, and natural resources of a part of the Saguenay Fjord and St. Lawrence River estuary, the governments of Quebec and Canada created, together with public support, the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park. The Marine Park’s mission is to increase ecosystem protection levels for conservation purposes, for the benefit of present and future generations, while encouraging its use for educational, recreational and scientific purposes.
Activities in the Marine Park are regulated with a view to ensuring the sustainable use of this area and its resources. Regional stakeholders contribute to achieving the marine park’s objectives.
Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park protects a marine area where the diversity of fauna and flora is exceptional: from microscopic algae to the gigantic blue whale, more than 2,000 wild species have been observed. A real gigantic feeding ground, the park attracts whales, seals and sea birds that travel thousands of kilometers to feed. How can we explain this migration?
Oceanic conditions promote an abundance and concentration of prey in the marine park. It is a choice destination for migratory marine species and a suitable habitat for resident species such as the St. Laurence population of the beluga whale.
The confluence of the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay River, where the waters of the Great Lakes, the Saguenay basin and the Atlantic Ocean meet, is recognized as an ecologically exceptional region. The oceanographic conditions that occur at the confluence of the Saguenay encourage the emergence of life and the concentration of species at the bottom of the food chain.
Know moreBecause of the hydrographic and oceanographic divisions, three ecosystems mark the boundaries of the Marine Park: the upper estuary, the lower estuary, and the Saguenay Fjord. Their physical and biological characteristics differ greatly and their boundaries are less well defined than on land due to the fluid nature of the marine environment.
A mosaic of habitats nevertheless exists, marked by variations in temperature, salinity, sea floor and depth. The ecosystems are closely linked, since the water and species move from one place to another.
Today, the breathtaking nature found in and around the Saguenay
and St. Lawrence rivers attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
However, this is not new; this region and its nature
have attracted people to the area for a very long time.
Just like our tourism industry, our history is also closely related to the sea.