Habitat Management Program

The Branch is responsible for administering the habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act . The Branch partners with provincial agencies and other stakeholders to protect and conserve fish habitat. Activities include review and approvals for projects on or near water, development of habitat compensation plans to offset unavoidable fish habitat damage, and stewardship activities with community groups. In addition, the Branch completes screenings for environmental assessments mandated by Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and reviews and assesses the impacts of projects on species at risk.

The program is guided by the national policy for the management of fish habitat. The aim of the policy is to produce a net gain of the natural productive capacity of fish habitat for the nation's fisheries resources to benefit present and future Canadians. Fish habitat can be defined as locations in our lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, estuaries and oceans on which fish depend either directly or indirectly to carry out their life processes. Areas such as spawning grounds, nursery and rearing areas, areas of food supply and migration areas are all examples of fish habitats.

To achieve a net gain in productive capacity, the program directs its efforts towards conservation, restoration and development of fish habitat. The conservation goal is advanced through the regulatory responsibilities of the Branch. Staff review development proposals that could impact fish habitat and provide advice on how best to minimize the destruction of fish habitat. Where damage or destruction in unavoidable, staff work with proponents in the development of a fish habitat compensation plan that more than offsets the damage done to natural fish habitat at any project site. These compensation efforts contribute to the development of new fish habitat. Fish habitat restoration is an ongoing function of the program where staff provide expert advice to interested stakeholders in the development of rehabilitation strategies to restore productive capacity of fish habitat.

Through formal and informal arrangements, DFO works in collaboration with community groups, industry, First Nations, other levels of government to achieve its objective of no net loss of fish habitat .