The New Federal Fisheries Act and its Effects

On Monday Nov 25^th, the new federal Fisheries Act (FA) came into effect (see previous Museum blog post). The new FA results in a shift from a general biodiversity-based set of protections to a fishery-based set of regulations. The FA used to protect all Canadian fishes from the harmful effects of alteration, damage and destruction of their habitat to a set of provisions that apply only to death of fish or permanent alteration or destruction of habitat for a much smaller subset of Canada’ fish biodiversity – only those that are part of, or support, a recreational, commercial or Aboriginal fishery.

The new FA will result in reduced protection for Canada’s fishes; most fishes in Canadian waters are not the subject of any directed fishery, to demonstrate death or permanent damage will be much more difficult as monitoring programs continue to be cut, and to demonstrate that any species supports a fishery (e.g., a prey item) could be very difficult if not impossible in most situations.

While it is true that Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) contains fish and habitat protection provisions for all fishes, these only apply after a species is listed as Threatened or Endangered under SARA (i.e., after it is in trouble). Further, although the aquatic habitat of these species is protected, SARA protection of the land along rivers and lakes (so called riparian areas) apply only to federal lands. Therefore, the new FA is a much reduced force to prevent fishes from becoming at risk. This is a major issue with the new FA – it is great to protect fisheries and fisheries-supporting habitat (as the new FA still can do), but now there are limited means to protect fishes that are not part of a fishery, unless they are already at risk. The chopping of fish habitat protection provisions in the new FA has thus created a biodiversity protection gap in Canadian legislation. This latter fact coupled with the many lawsuits that are sure to test the new FA may well end up costing us all a lot more in time, money, and lost fish biodiversity.

For more information, see:

• Hutchings, J. A. & Post, J. R. Fisheries 38, 497–501 (2013)
• Casselman, A. 2013. Changes to Canada’s fisheries law alarm biologists. Nature News.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2013. Fisheries Protection Policy Statement.
• Possible legal implications

Photo (top): The redbelly dace is a freshwater fish found in BC that is at risk of less protection under the new Fisheries Act. _{PHOTO: J. MEE}