Brassy Minnow (Pacific population): Consultations on listing under the Species at Risk Act
Current status: Closed
This consultation ran from March 15, 2024 to May 14, 2024.
Species at Risk Act (SARA) provides legal protection for wildlife species at risk to conserve biological diversity. It also acknowledges that all Canadians have a role to play in the conservation of wildlife species.
Before deciding whether Brassy Minnow (Hybognathus hankinsoni) (Pacific population), will be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as special concern, we would like to hear your opinion, comments, and suggestions regarding the possible ecological, cultural, and economic impacts of listing or not listing this species under SARA.
Join in: How to participate
Share your ideas online
The Government of Canada is engaging with Canadians on whether Brassy Minnow (Hybognathus hankinsoni) (Pacific population) should be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk.
Please fill out the online survey. Thank you.
Changing the status of a species on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk
The process of relisting a species under SARA consists of several steps:
- status assessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
- public consultations to gather the opinions of Canadians
- Government of Canada decision on whether or not to add the species on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk
Long description
Figure 1 is an image of Brassy Minnow. Brassy Minnow is moderately deep-bodied and compressed, olive-green dorsally and brassy-yellow to dull silver laterally. The head is broad, and the snout overhangs a small mouth that does not extend back as far as the front margin of the eye. It has large cycloid scales, no barbels, a complete lateral line, and a black peritoneum and long, complexly coiled gut.
Facts about Brassy Minnow
Brassy Minnow is a small minnow with an olive-green back and brassy-yellow to dull silver sides. It lives in small headwater lakes, quiet pools, slow-moving streams, beaver ponds, and ditches with aquatic vegetation. Brassy Minnow feeds mainly on plants and typically occurs in waterbodies with few other fish species, making it an ecologically-significant fish in these systems.
The species’ global range extends across several drainage basins in North America. The Pacific population is found in three separate regions of the Fraser River watershed in British Columbia: the upper Fraser River drainage basin near Prince George and Vanderhoof, the Horsefly drainage basin near Williams Lake, and the Lower Fraser Valley downstream of Chilliwack (Figure 2).
Long description
Figure 2 is a map of British Columbia showing the distribution of Brassy Minnow (Pacific population) based on past observation points occurring in the southwestern and central regions of the province, near Vancouver and Prince George (respectively).
Brassy Minnow is often locally abundant where it occurs, although the presence of predatory fishes can limit its abundance. This species has been studied infrequently, and population size and trend information in Canada is limited. It is possible that the species has a larger range in British Columbia than current data show.
Brassy Minnow has a short lifespan of less than 4 years; the average age of breeding adults is 2 years. The species grows quickly in its first year, and both sexes reach sexual maturity at age 1. Spawning occurs in late spring or early summer.
Key questions for discussion
Who assigned the special concern status to Brassy Minnow (Pacific population)?
COSEWIC is an independent committee of experts that assesses which wildlife species are in danger of disappearing from Canada and assigns a risk status to these species. It conducts its assessments based on the best available information including scientific data, local ecological knowledge, and Indigenous traditional knowledge. COSEWIC assessed Brassy Minnow (Pacific population) as special concern in May 2022. Under SARA, a species of special concern is defined as one that may become a threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological factors and identified threats.
Why is Brassy Minnow (Pacific population) at risk?
COSEWIC assessed Brassy Minnow (Pacific population) as special concern mainly because of its vulnerability to predation by non-native fishes. Other threats to the population include habitat modification (for example, due to agriculture, urbanization, roads, logging, fire and fire suppression), pollution, and climate change; these threats may act individually or together. Given the species’ short lifespan, events that impact a single year class (such as high mortality or recruitment failure) can significantly decrease overall abundance. The scattered distribution of Brassy Minnow in headwater systems limits its ability to move downstream to other tributaries, increasing the risk of local extirpations. If threats are not managed effectively, the species may become further at risk.
What happens if Brassy Minnow is listed as a special concern species under the SARA?
If Brassy Minnow (Pacific population) is listed as special concern, SARA prohibitions against activities such as killing, harming, and capturing Brassy Minnow would not apply. However, listing would result in the development of a SARA management plan that would include conservation measures for this species in Canadian waters.
Related information
Contact us
Species at Risk Program
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Pacific Region
200-401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3S4
DFO.PACSAR-LEPPAC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca