The Government of Canada takes action to protect aquatic species at risk in British Columbia

From: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

News release

March 5, 2025

Vancouver, British Columbia - Nature is a key part of Canada’s national identity. The health of our aquatic environment, and the wildlife within, supports our culture, well-being, and the economy in British Columbia (BC) and across Canada. Yet some of the aquatic species that make their home in the waters throughout BC are at risk and need help to survive. We must continue to take action to protect them.

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, announced $4.79 million in funding for ten projects as part of the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR). This investment directly supports conservation and recovery for aquatic species at risk in BC.

  • Seven of the funded projects will benefit aquatic species at risk in the Fraser and Columbia River watersheds. These priority watersheds host 70% of the Pacific Region’s freshwater aquatic species at risk.
  • Projects in these watersheds include initiatives to restore degraded habitat and address threats from invasive species, and research to better understand and mitigate threats to survival and recovery.
  • The other three funded projects will address impacts to aquatic species at risk in the marine environment, including entanglement, bycatch, physical and acoustic threats.
  • Collectively, these projects will benefit a wide variety of aquatic species at risk in BC, including Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel, Nooksack Dace, Salish Sucker, Speckled Dace, Green and White sturgeon, Grey Whales, and BC’s iconic Killer Whales.

Through project partnerships, the CNFASAR focuses on the recovery and protection of aquatic species as risk by enabling a variety of approaches in nine priority freshwater places and against two priority marine threats.

Through this Fund, under the Nature Legacy Initiative, the Government of Canada is helping to build a culture of conservation, and one that empowers Canadian organizations to join in the collaborative efforts to conserve nature. Since 2018, the CNFASAR has funded over 140 projects for over $110 million across Canada that support the conservation of biodiversity through collaboration and partnership to recover aquatic species at risk.

Quotes

“At Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we're proud of the results achieved through projects supported by the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, which aim to protect aquatic species at risk. However, there is still work to be done. That's why it's crucial that the Government of Canada continues to support initiatives essential to the preservation and restoration of these vulnerable species. With the funding of these new projects, we are pleased to collaborate with partners in British Columbia to invest in initiatives that will have a tangible impact on protecting our aquatic habitats and endangered species.”

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Quick facts

  • CNFASAR’s nine priority areas identified are located in:

    • Fraser and Columbia Watersheds (BC)
    • Rocky Mountains’ Eastern Slopes (AB)
    • Southern Prairies (AB, SK, MB)
    • Arctic (NU, NWT, YT, Arctic Ocean)
    • Lower Great Lakes Watershed (ON)
    • St. Lawrence Lowlands (QC)
    • Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Rivers (NB, NS, PEI)
    • Bay of Fundy and Southern Uplands Watersheds (NS, NB)
    • Southern Newfoundland (NL)

  • The two priority marine threats to aquatic species that CNFASAR addresses are:

    • Fishing interactions such as entanglements and bycatch of aquatic species at risk;
    • Physical and acoustic disturbance, including vessel collisions and marine noise.

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Contacts

Andrew Richardson
Acting Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Andrew.Richardson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Media Relations
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
613-990-7537
Media.xncr@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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