Order Giving Notice of Decisions not to add Certain Species to the List of Endangered Species (SI/2005-2)

Although the COSEWIC assessments for the Cultus and Sakinaw populations make it clear that those populations are at very low levels and are at risk of biological extinction, adding them to the List as “endangered” would lead to severe consequences for the south coast British Columbia (BC) sockeye salmon fishing sector and for the coastal communities, including first nations, who depend on salmon fishing. It would trigger automatic prohibitions on killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking those species, unless permits authorizing a person to engage in those activities could be issued by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans under the Act or the activities affecting the two populations are permitted by a recovery strategy, an action plan or a management plan and are also authorized under an Act of Parliament.

A financial analysis, informed through consultations with aboriginal organizations and various stakeholders, based on projections of the impact of listing, over the current four-year cycle (2004-2007), of BC Fraser River sockeye salmon was completed. The analysis shows that if those populations continue to decline, the gross value of the south coast BC sockeye fishing sector would be reduced by approximately $125 million over the current four-year cycle, as a result of the severe fishery restrictions required to reduce mortality on the Cultus and Sakinaw populations to a level that would give some probability of their survival or recovery, consistent with a listing under the Act. That reduction would be over and above the approximately $75 million reduction in gross value to the fishing sector that will be experienced as a result of current measures implemented by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect those sockeye salmon populations. The fishing sector includes the commercial and recreational industry as well as first nation’s food, social and ceremonial fishing. Moreover, there would be consequent impacts on coastal communities who are dependent on the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery. Approximately 25% of commercial fishers are aboriginal people.

The consequences from listing could be so severe that, considering the restrictions necessary to protect those populations, there would likely be no marine commercial fishery on Fraser River sockeye salmon in three of those four years. In all four years, the food, social and ceremonial fishing requirements of many first nations who harvest in marine waters would likely not be achieved. After two years in the four-year cycle, the food, social and ceremonial fishing requirements of first nations in the Fraser River area below the Vedder River would likely not be met. Processors heavily dependant on sockeye salmon would also be negatively impacted. Those impacts on the south coast BC sockeye salmon fishery and the coastal communities would extend with lasting effects to future four-year cycles of Fraser River sockeye salmon.

With regard to the assessment process, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) feels that the status reports on which COSEWIC based their assessments of the species for special concern were based on criteria and processes in place before the Act came into force and that those reports do not satisfy the new requirements to incorporate the best available community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge. The NWMB also stated that consultations have not been sufficient. Those species are not being added to the List at this time in order to consult further with the NWMB so as to determine how its concerns can be addressed. The Minister may reconsider the matter after those consultations have been completed.

The COSEWIC assessment of “endangered” may well be consistent with the fact that the speckled dace is a rare species with a very restricted distribution in Canada. However, there are several points in the COSEWIC status report that require better documentation, and the impact of a key threat mentioned in the COSEWIC status report has been reduced subsequent to the COSEWIC assessment. Accordingly, further information and consideration on the following points are required to clarify the biological basis for the assessment:

The COSEWIC’s status report published on the public registry established under the Act indicates that a proposed dam project would “result in the loss of as much as 22% of the existing Canadian habitat” (page 28). However, the status report elsewhere indicates that the dam would flood either 2.5 km or 2.7 km of speckled dace habitat and that speckled dace are found at sites along 112 km of watersheds in southern British Columbia, which would indicate that the dam would impact around 2% of existing habitat rather than 22%. Clarification of the potential impact of the dam is required since the COSEWIC assessment summary published on the public registry refers to the “construction of a proposed dam” as a key factor in the assessment.

The COSEWIC’s status report was completed in 2002. Since the status report and the assessment were completed, design changes have been made to the dam project, which would considerably reduce its impact on the upstream habitat of speckled dace. Specifically, the area flooded will be reduced from 2.5 km to 350 m. Since the dam project is identified as a key factor in the assessment, further consideration of whether this change in impact would affect the assessment is required.

Further consideration of whether the status report should be revised to better support the technical summary and the assessment summary is required. Specifically, the technical summary of the status report refers to an estimated decline of at least 10% per year for this species. Further information on the basis for this estimate would be essential to clearly document the conclusion and to ensure that the status report’s information supports a decision on whether to list and to take subsequent recovery actions.

“Urban and industrial development” are referred to in the assessment summary as threats to the species but are not documented in the status report. Further information on this would help to clarify the basis for the assessment and to support any listing discussions.

In light of the above, further consideration should be given to whether the overall assessment of “endangered” is justified.