Management Plan for the Bridle Shiner in Canada [Final] 2011: Management

The goal of this management plan is to maintain and enhance Bridle Shiner populations and their habitats, to ensure that viable populations are present throughout the species’ current and historic range in Canada.

Short-term objectives (over a five year period)

1. To ensure the protection of known populations and habitats;
   
2. To evaluate threat factors impacting the species and its habitat and mitigate them when possible;
   
3. To improve the quality of impacted habitats currently used by the Bridle Shiner;
   
4. To determine the extent, abundance and demographics of Bridle Shiner populations;
   
5. To increase public awareness regarding the presence, threats and conservation of the Bridle Shiner and its habitat, and its status as a Canadian species at risk; and,
   
6. To develop contacts and raise awareness among the various partners, recovery teams, interest groups, organizations and landowners interested in supporting the conservation of the Bridle Shiner.

Habitat requirements

Research is required to determine the age-specific and seasonal habitat needs of the Bridle Shiner, including spawning and nursery habitat, home range and species movement. This information is required to achieve the management objective to protect and restore Bridle Shiner habitats and will help to define current and potentially suitable habitats for the species.

Population dynamics

Bridle Shiner population dynamics have never been studied in Canada. Information regarding population structure, mortality rates, productivity, recruitment and migratory behaviour is lacking for this species. Such information is necessary to ensure accurate monitoring of population trends, to determine limiting life-stages (eggs, juveniles or mature individuals) and to prevent disturbance of the species during critical phases in the life cycle.

Threat evaluation and mitigation

It is important to investigate and evaluate the significance of threats facing Canadian Bridle Shiner populations, both locally and throughout the species' Canadian distribution. To be effective, research should focus on perceived high priority threats. Known threats currently impacting closely related species should also be investigated to assist in evaluating threats to the Bridle Shiner. Threats will be mitigated when possible.

Consolidate existing Bridle Shiner data and create a centralized database in Quebec

The protection and management of a species requires knowledge of its habitat needs. Miscellaneous information on the Bridle Shiner is available in the regional offices of the MRNF and in other institutions. Available Bridle Shiner information, including habitat characteristics, will be entered into a data management system to facilitate the protection of areas where Bridle Shiner is known to occur. A clearer and more complete picture of this species’ situation can be drawn from the integration of available information on the Bridle Shiner, which will also outline future research priorities. Data dissemination would be ensured by the Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec (CDPNQ), an organization already established and accessed by various stakeholders in wildlife management. This action is ongoing.

Establish standardized sampling and identification methods

Given the apparent decline of some Bridle Shiner populations in Canada, non-lethal methods for capturing and identifying the species are recommended. The protocol for detecting species at risk in the Ontario side of the Great Lakes (Portt et al. 2008) includes methods for sampling the Bridle Shiner, which should be used when targeting the species. Methods should be standardized to allow long-term monitoring and comparisons of Bridle Shiner populations. Field personnel conducting surveys should have appropriate fish identification training, including the identification of species at risk, such as provided by the ROM. A field fact sheet describing key features of the blackline shiner group (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Bridle Shiner and Pugnose Shiner) should be developed.

Habitat mapping – potential habitat locations

A survey of Bridle Shiner habitat across the species’ Canadian range is required. A habitat mapping tool to identify potential Bridle Shiner locations across the species’ Canadian range will be necessary to aid in survey efforts, considering the extent of the area to be covered and the paucity of available resources.

Targeted habitat surveys will help to identify Bridle Shiner habitats, including significant locations such as spawning grounds, rearing areas and congregation sites. This would also facilitate recommendations for habitat protection under (SARA), should the species be re-classified at a higher level (e.g., endangered, threatened).

Surveys – current, historic and potential locations

The extent of the species’ distribution in Canada will be more thoroughly defined by conducting targeted surveys in areas where Bridle Shiner is known to exist, areas where the species was found historically and in areas containing suitable habitat but lacking Bridle Shiner records.

Habitat protection

Actions to protect and restore habitats include:

• ensuring that stakeholders and proponents have access to or are aware of the habitat needs of the Bridle Shiner;
• considering additional mechanisms for protecting fish habitat (e.g., land acquisition, land trusts);
• encouraging the rehabilitation and conservation of riparian zones; and,
• ensuring that land use planning and re-zoning take into account the requirements of the Bridle Shiner (e.g., by specifying locations in development plans where the species is known to exist and by implementing appropriate actions when defined.)

Habitat stewardship

Efforts must be made to encourage stewardship initiatives to improve habitat quality (e.g., planting of riparian vegetation, restricting livestock access to streams) and to increase the awareness of landowners, private companies, volunteer organizations, aboriginal communities and citizens. Stewardship programs provide assistance in sound decision-making and facilitate the conservation of species at risk and their habitats. They also help increase awareness among the general public and interest groups regarding the threats facing the Bridle Shiner. Management practices beneficial to fish and fish habitat (e.g., in Ontario, Best Management Practices Series http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/environment/bmp/series.htm) will also be encouraged and facilitated.

Sampling guidelines and methods

Proponents requesting to conduct work that may impact Bridle Shiner habitat, in areas where species presence is highly probable but unsupported by current data, will be required to carry out targeted surveys using standardized sampling techniques proven effective at detecting the species. Low impact sampling techniques will be used to avoid jeopardizing the survival of the population.

Habitat restoration

A list should be drawn up of the sites that should be given priority for habitat restoration activities, including sites where the species has been extirpated, and potential new sites. This list should be included in the Atlas of Bank Restoration Sites of the St. Lawrence River
(http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/AtlasDeRestaurationDesRivesDuSaint-Laurent/). Restoration work should be facilitated at high priority locations. In Ontario, restoration activities should target the eastern portion of the species’ range (Cornwall area).

Outreach and communication plan

A plan to raise awareness and facilitate communication should be developed and implemented to inform the public about the Bridle Shiner, where it occurs and its status as a Canadian species at risk and to raise public interest and involvement in conservation activities. The plan should outline objectives, identify target audiences, and select the most efficient means of communication. To ensure a coordinated approach, the communication plan will be developed in cooperation with existing management or recovery plans (single-species, multi-species and ecosystem-based plans) covering the range of the Bridle Shiner.

Coordination with recovery teams and other complementary groups

A coordinated approach is recommended between the National Bridle Shiner Recovery Team and other single-species, multi-species or ecosystem-based recovery teams (see Section 4.0 Associated Plans). This will maximize opportunities to share resources and information, and combine efforts during the implementation of management actions for the Bridle Shiner. Opportunities also exist to achieve management objectives through integration with ongoing watershed planning or source water protection planning.

Proposed management actions will benefit the environment in general. It is likely that implementation of the suggested actions will benefit a wide variety of native species, including other co-occurring species at risk. No negative impacts on other species resulting from implementation of Bridle Shiner management actions are expected.

DFO and PCA encourage other agencies and organizations to participate in the conservation of the Bridle Shiner through the implementation of this management plan. Table 7 summarizes those actions that are recommended to support the management goals and objectives. The activities implemented by DFO and PCA will be subject to the availability of funding and other required resources. Where appropriate, DFO and PCA will request specific organizations and sectors to provide the necessary expertise and capacity to carry out the listed actions. However, the identification of specific organizations is intended to be advice to the other agencies, and carrying out these actions will be subject to each agency's priorities and budgetary constraints.

Table 7. Implementation schedule.

¹ Timeframes are subject to change in response to demands on resources.
† See section: 1.5.2. Threat description
†† Acronyms: CA: Conservation Authorities (Ontario)
CMN: Canadian Museum of Nature
CWS: Canadian Wildlife Service
DFO: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
EC: Environment Canada
MDDEP: Quebec Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs
MRC: Municipalités régionales de comté
MRNF: Quebec Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune
OMNR: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
PCA: Parks Canada Agency
ROM: Royal Ontario Museum

There are no associated plans that deal specifically with the Bridle Shiner. However, management plans and recovery strategies are in development for the Grass Pickerel, Pugnose Shiner and Copper Redhorse, three species at risk with distributions that overlap that of the Bridle Shiner. These plans are all relevant to the management of the Bridle Shiner.