Warmouth: consultation, 2020
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Information summary and survey for the consultations on potentially up-listing Warmouth on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk from Special Concern to Endangered – Please provide input by May 21, 2020.
Consultations: let your opinion be heard
Canada’s 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 Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) will be up-listed on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk from Special Concern to Endangered, we would like to hear your opinion, comments, and suggestions regarding the possible ecological, cultural, and economic impacts of up-listing or not up-listing this species under SARA.
Up-listing a species from “Special Concern” to “Endangered” on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk
The process of up-listing a species under SARA consists of several steps: it begins with a status reassessment by COSEWIC and ends with a Government of Canada decision on whether or not to up-list a species on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. Public consultations are conducted to gather the opinions of Canadians and are an important step in this process.
Facts about Warmouth
The Warmouth is a small fish (average length of 15 cm), and is Canada’s rarest sunfish. The species can be distinguished from other sunfish by its large mouth and dark bands radiating backward from the eye.
It prefers the warm waters of wetlands with abundant aquatic vegetation. Warmouth has a large mouth and feeds on crayfish, large aquatic insect larvae, and small fish.
In Canada, Warmouth is found only in several Lake Erie wetlands (Point Pelee National Park, Rondeau Bay, Long Point Bay, and Big Creek National Wildlife Area) (Figure 2).
Who assigned the Endangered status to Warmouth
In 2015, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife (COSEWIC) reassessed Warmouth in Canada from Special Concern to Endangered.
COSEWIC is an independent committee of experts that assesses which wildlife species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada and assigns a status to these species. It conducts its assessments based on the best available information including scientific data, local ecological knowledge, and indigenous traditional knowledge. Under SARA, an Endangered species is defined as one that is facing imminent extirpation or extinction.
Description
Map showing the distribution of the Warmouth in Canada, where the species has been recorded from three localities, all situated in the Lake Erie drainage. These localities are Rondeau Provincial Park, Point Pelee National Park, and Long Point Bay. Distribution is indicated for three time periods: before 1998, 1998 to 2007, and 2008 to 2017.
Why is the Warmouth at risk
COSEWIC assessed the Warmouth as Endangered because of its small distribution and declining habitat quality.
Factors impacting Warmouth habitat include the establishment of invasive non-native aquatic plants and oxygen depletion from excessive nutrient enrichment of freshwater lakes and rivers resulting from agricultural runoff.
If a species is up-listed under the Species at Risk Act
If Warmouth is up-listed as Endangered, the prohibitions of SARA would immediately come into effect in Canadian waters. It would be illegal to kill, harm, harass, capture, possess, buy, sell, or trade Warmouth. However, activities that may affect the species or its critical habitat may be permitted under SARA section 73-74, or exempt under section 83, where that activity does not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species. A recovery strategy and subsequent action plan(s) would be developed to identify measures to address known threats. Critical habitat, the habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of Warmouth, would need to be identified, to the extent possible, in a recovery strategy or action plan and protected from destruction.
We would like to receive your comments on the potential impacts of up-listing or not up-listing Warmouth to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under SARA from Special Concern to Endangered. Your comments are important.
Before completing this survey, you may wish to review the following background information found at the links below:
- 2015 COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Warmouth
- Other information on the species can be found on the Species at Risk Public Registry.
For more information
Species at Risk Program, Central and Arctic Region
867 Lakeshore Road
Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1
Email: fwisar@dfo-mpo.gc.ca