| Fathom Five National Marine Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[1] | |
 Flowerpot Island | |
  Location of Fathom Five National Marine Park in Canada  Location of Fathom Five National Marine Park in Southern Ontario | |
| Location | Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| Nearest city | Tobermory, Ontario |
| Coordinates | 45°19′17″N 81°37′34″W / 45.32139°N 81.62611°W |
| Area | 112 km2 (43 sq mi) |
| Established | 20 July 1987 [2] |
| Visitors | 227,828 (in 2022–23[3]) |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
Fathom Five National Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area in the Georgian Bay part of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada, that seeks to protect and display shipwrecks and lighthouses, and conserve freshwater ecosystems. Parks Canada has management plans for the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, with a multi-action plan for species that are at risk, including endemic species, the Monarch butterfly, the eastern ribbonsnake, and the eastern whip-poor-will. The aquatic ecosystems in the park are also of particular interest. Many fish, shellfish, amphibians, and eels are an attraction for naturalists in the park. Much of this wildlife is accessible to scuba divers and snorkellers in the park. The many shipwrecks make the park a popular scuba diving destination, and glass bottom boat tours leave Tobermory regularly, allowing tourists to see the shipwrecks without having to get wet.[4] Additionally, there are three main popular hiking trails found within Fathom Five National Marine Park that provides visitors with views of old growth forests and the Georgian Bay. The Saugeen Ojibway Peoples have inhabited the Bruce Peninsula and the area that is now Fathom Five National Marine Park for thousands of years. This land provided for their communities and their people with the plethora of wildlife and plant life. They provide the local knowledge about Lake Huron and its ecological value to the reserve, park, and their overall livelihood. Parks Canada and Saugeen Ojibway People's collaboration is said to yield a benefit to both parties with regard to overall ecosystem knowledge.
Many visitors camp at nearby Bruce Peninsula National Park and use the park as a base to explore Fathom Five and the surrounding area during the day.
Fathom Five also contains numerous islands, notably Flowerpot Island, which has rough camping facilities, marked trails, and its namesake flowerpots, outlying stacks of escarpment cliff that stand a short distance from the island, most with vegetation (including trees) still growing on them.
The park was established on 20 July 1987 using the area of the Fathom Five Provincial Park and the western portion of the Georgian Bay Islands National Park.[5] The park represented a pioneering departure for the national park system, which had centred on land-based conservation until then. Its designation as a National Marine Park foresaw the creation of others, though nomenclature for such units would morph into National Marine Conservation Areas, leaving Fathom Five as the only National Marine Park. Despite its unique name, it is categorized as an NMCA and is deemed the first one in the country.
- ^ "Protected Planet | Fathom Five National Marine Park Of Canada". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
- ^ "State of the Park Report 2010 - Fathom Five National Marine Park of Canada". Parks Canada. 2010. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
- ^ Canada, Parks. "Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Open Government Portal". open.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "Canada 150: Five national parks to visit with the free discovery pass". CTV News. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Fathom Five National Marine Park | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-09-14.