List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decisions Not to Add Certain Species) Order: SI/2019-66

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 153, Number 15

Registration
SI/2019-66 July 24, 2019

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decisions Not to Add Certain Species) Order

P.C. 2019-1057 July 9, 2019

Whereas the Minister of the Environment has formed the opinion that there is an imminent threat to the survival of the Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Chilcotin River population and the Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Thompson River population;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, having considered the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment made pursuant to subsection 29(1) of the Species at Risk Act footnote a, as well as social, economic, policy and other factors and the broader public interest, decides not to add those wildlife species to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order confirms the decision of the Governor in Council (GiC) not to add the Steelhead Trout, Chilcotin River population, and the Steelhead Trout, Thompson River population (Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead) to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as endangered wildlife species.

Background

Steelhead Trout are an anadromous (sea-run) form of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that range from Russia to northern Mexico coastal waters and tributary streams. In Canada, Steelhead Trout are present in many rivers and streams of British Columbia, including the Fraser River system where the genetically distinct Chilcotin and Thompson River populations are found. While both populations have been declining in recent years, the number of mature fish returning from the ocean to spawn in the fall of 2017 to the Chilcotin and Thompson rivers reached their lowest levels ever recorded. These low returns resulted in a request being made to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) for an assessment of the threat for the purpose of having these populations listed on an emergency basis as endangered species. COSEWIC classified both populations as endangered.

In December 2018, based on the COSEWIC assessment, additional peer-reviewed science advice in the form of a Recovery Potential Assessment, and other information provided by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the Minister of the Environment formed the opinion that there is an imminent threat to the survival of Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead. Given the formation of this opinion, as required under subsection 29(1) of SARA, the Minister of the Environment made a recommendation to the GiC to list these populations as endangered. Having considered the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment and social, economic, policy and other factors as well as the broader public interest, the GiC decided not to add these populations as endangered to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk.

Implications

The decision not to add Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 of SARA as endangered species means that the prohibitions provided by SARA, and the requirement to prepare a recovery strategy, including the identification and, later, the protection of critical habitat, will not apply.

As set out in the “Statement Setting Out the Reasons for the Decisions Not to Add the Steelhead Trout Chilcotin River Population and the Steelhead Trout Thompson River Population to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk” published in the Species at Risk Public Registry, the decision not to add Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead to Schedule 1 of SARA is informed by the following considerations: the emergency assessment and recommendation made by COSEWIC, the peer-reviewed Recovery Potential Assessment and other available information regarding the status of and threats to the wildlife species; the current and ongoing shared management and conservation of Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead between the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia; the anticipated conservation outcomes of implementing protection through listing these wildlife species versus the anticipated outcomes of not listing them and continuing to manage their conservation under existing federal and provincial legislation; a cost-benefit analysis of the potential impacts of listing these wildlife species; and the results of consultations undertaken with the public, the Province of British Columbia, appropriate Indigenous groups and organizations, and other persons and organizations as considered appropriate by the competent minister.

The Government of Canada has determined that the most effective approach to the conservation of Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead is to continue to influence human activities using existing legislative tools, and complementary measures (e.g. habitat restoration projects), that can be implemented collaboratively with others without making an Emergency Listing Order to add Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 of SARA.

The Government of Canada will continue to use a combination of other legislative mechanisms available under the Fisheries Act, and work collaboratively with the Province of British Columbia, which also has legislative mechanisms available to manage for conservation of Chilcotin and Thompson River Steelhead. The federal and provincial authorities have agreed to work collaboratively with Indigenous groups and other partners to establish and implement a Steelhead conservation plan to address the imminent threats to the survival of these populations and provide for the conditions necessary to promote population productivity. There will likely be some incremental impacts associated with the planned management measures; these will be assessed when specific measures are developed.

Departmental contact

Julie Stewart
Director
Species at Risk Program
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Email: SARA_LEP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca