White Sturgeon (Upper Fraser River designatable unit): consultation, 2019

Submit your comments here:

• White Sturgeon (Upper Fraser River designatable unit)

Information summary and survey for the consultations on potentially adding the White Sturgeon (Upper Fraser River designatable unit) to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as endangered – Please provide input by July 9, 2019.

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 the Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)  will be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as endangered, the Government of Canada 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.

Adding a species to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk

The process of listing a species under SARA consists of several steps: it begins with a status assessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and ends with a Government of Canada decision on whether or not to add a species to 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 White Sturgeon

White Sturgeon is the largest and longest lived freshwater fish species in North America, with some individuals reported at over six metres in length and 100 years of age. White Sturgeon has a flattened head with barbels (whiskers) between the snout and mouth, and a large grey to white body with five rows of bony plates (scutes).

In Canada, White Sturgeon occur in the Fraser River and Columbia River systems, including the river mainstems, and several larger tributaries and large lakes. The Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon extends from Hell’s Gate to McBride in the Fraser River and from the confluence with the Fraser River to Fraser and Trembleur lakes in the Nechako River.

In 2006, two portions the designatable unit were listed as endangered under SARA: Nechako River nationally significant population and Upper Fraser River nationally significant population (i.e., upstream of Cottonwood Canyon). In 2006, the Middle Fraser River nationally significant population was not listed under SARA. The listing consultations currently underway apply to the entire range of the Upper Fraser River designatable unit. A listing decision will  result in listing or not listing the entire designatable unit under SARA.

Who assigned the endangered status to the Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon

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 Aboriginal traditional knowledge. In 2012, COSEWIC assessed White Sturgeon within Canada as four designatable units:  

• Upper Fraser River
• Lower Fraser River
• Upper Columbia River
• Upper Kootenay River

COSEWIC determined that the Upper Fraser River, Upper Columbia River and Upper Kootenay River DUs are endangered, and that the Lower Fraser River DU is Threatened. Under SARA, an endangered species is defined as one that is facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Why is White Sturgeon (Upper Fraser River designatable unit) at risk

COSEWIC assessed the Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon as endangered because the species has declined considerably over the last century and will likely continue to decline owing to localized habitat degradation and recruitment failure.

White Sturgeon faces several threats, including: loss of habitat quality and quantity, fishing effects, reduced or altered food supply, altered hydrograph, pollution, effects of small population size, hatchery and aquaculture effects on health and population, and change in ecological community.

If a species is listed under the Species at Risk Act

If the Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon is 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 individuals of the species. 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 the Upper Fraser River designatable unit of White Sturgeon – 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 adding or not adding White Sturgeon (Upper Fraser River designatable unit) to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under SARA designated as endangered.

Before completing this survey, you may wish to review the following background information found at the links below:

• White Sturgeon Species Profile
• 2012 COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on White Sturgeon
• Recovery Potential Assessment (PDF - 405 KB) (DFO’s peer-reviewed scientific advice)
• Summary of Management Scenarios
• Summary of analysis of the economic benefits and costs of the Management Scenarios
• Other information can be found on the Species at Risk Public Registry

For more information

Species at Risk Program, Pacific Region
200-401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 3S4
sara@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Your comments are important.

Thank you for completing this survey.