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Chapter 1
A Federal Perspective on Fish Habitat Management

1.1 Introduction

This document provides Canadians with a statement of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' policy objectives, goals and strategies for the management of fish habitats supporting Canada's freshwater and marine fisheries. Fish habitats constitute healthy production systems for the nation's fisheries and, when the habitats are functioning well, Canada's fish stocks will continue to produce economic and social benefits throughout the country.

The policy provides objective statements against which the Department can measure its performance in fish habitat management and offers a framework for more consistent administration of the Department's habitat management program. It signals a renewed effort by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to increase the social and economic benefits derived by Canadians from productive fish habitats and the fisheries resources they support.

In a broader sense, this policy will contribute directly to the management of human use of the biosphere, so that it may yield the greatest environmentally sustainable economic benefit to mankind.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans developed this policy framework following public release of a discussion paper in 1983 and of a proposed policy and procedures paper in 1985. In the course of the public discussion that followed, it became clear that an improved approach was needed to manage fish habitat and to consider opposing views before habitat decisions are taken. In particular, it became clear that integrated resource planning, combined with better integration of habitat and fisheries management objectives, must become more widely applied in fish habitat management.

Under the federal Fisheries Act, "fish habitats" are defined as those parts of the environment "on which fish depend, directly or indirectly, in order to carry out their life processes". The Act also defines "fish" to include all the life stages of "fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine animals and marine plants". Accordingly, pursuant to the Act, this policy will apply to all projects and activities, large and small, in or near the water, that could "alter, disrupt or destroy" fish habitats, by chemical, physical or biological means, thereby potentially undermining the economic, employment and other benefits that flow from Canada's fisheries resources.

Fish habitats can be damaged in ways both obvious and subtle, and by changes big and small. A multimillion dollar hydro project can take its toll on a spawning run of fish, but so can a poorly-installed culvert under a farm lane. Among the most common threats to fish habitats are those associated with industrial and municipal liquid waste discharges; stream diversions; introduction of silt; barriers to migration; alteration of flow; nutrient imbalances; acid rain and toxic airborne contaminants; pesticides; and other chemical, physical and biological agents.

Fish are an important part of Canada's renewable resource base. The commercial and recreational fisheries contribute several billion dollars annually to the national economy. Fish and their habitats are also a valuable tourist attraction, generating local income quite apart from fishing activities. In addition, there are social benefits that flow from the fishery resource, such as support for traditional lifestyles in remote communities. Finally, to many Canadians, the simple knowledge that the fish are there serves as a strong indicator of a healthy environment. With wise management, habitats may be conserved, restored and developed so that the fisheries resource will provide increasing benefits to the nation in perpetuity.

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1.2 National Application

The policy applies to those habitats directly or indirectly supporting those fish stocks or populations that sustain commercial, recreational or Native fishing activities of benefit to Canadians. In addition, Fisheries and Oceans recognizes its responsibility to protect and increase fish stocks and their habitats that have either a demonstrated potential themselves to sustain fishing activities, or a demonstrated ecological support function for the fisheries resources. In accordance with this philosophy, the policy will not necessarily be applied to all places where fish are found in Canada, but it will be applied as required in support of fisheries resource conservation.

Under the Constitution Act (1982), the federal government has authority for all fisheries in Canada, and it retains direct management control of fisheries resources in the Atlantic Provinces of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island; for the marine and anadromous salmon fisheries of British Columbia; for the marine fisheries of Quebec; and for the fisheries of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. In addition, the federal government becomes involved in transboundary and international situations where undertakings in one province, territory or country threaten fish habitat in another.

Following references to the Privy Council and several Court decisions, formal agreements were negotiated during the period 1899 and 1930 between the federal government and a number of provinces. As a result, the federal government has made special arrangements concerning day-to-day management for the inland fisheries of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and for some fisheries in the provinces of Quebec (where the province manages all freshwater, anadromous and catadromous fisheries), and British Columbia (where the province manages all freshwater species, excepting anadromous salmon). In these six provinces (or parts thereof), federal fisheries legislation is administered by the provincial fisheries management agency, although provincial fisheries regulations must be promulgated by the federal government. Conservation Officers in several provinces are designated as Fishery Officers for purposes of administering the Fisheries Act.

The Department recognizes that experienced freshwater fisheries management agencies, with the capability to administer regulations, and to manage fish habitats on behalf of users of the fisheries resource, have evolved in the six provinces (or parts thereof) identified in the preceding paragraph. The federal government will not actively apply this policy in those jurisdictions; rather the provincial agencies concerned are being encouraged to apply it through bi-lateral administrative agreements and protocols which will also clarify roles and responsibilities for the respective parties involved. Also, interagency referrals and other forms of federal-provincial cooperation will continue to be used and agreements developed in those other provinces and territories where the Department of Fisheries and Oceans administers fisheries legislation directly.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans will apply this policy primarily in freshwaters, estuaries and coastal situations where most damage to fish habitats has taken place and where the risk of future damage is highest. In the offshore marine waters on Canada's continental shelves, the policy will also apply, the main areas of interest being: (1) the surveillance and control of chemical hazards introduced, or that may be introduced, by man's activities, and (2) managing the potential adverse effects of plastic debris, ocean dumping, shipping and oil and gas exploitation activities. The policy will be applied to projects and activities of any scale, large or small, to avoid cumulative losses of habitats that support Canada's fisheries resources.

The Department has commenced a phased program of policy implementation, giving due consideration to regional priorities and to program resource requirements for habitat management.

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1.3 International Considerations

Fish habitat management policy serves the objectives of more than just the federal fisheries programs in Canada. The habitat management program of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans helps to fulfill Canada's commitment to the United Nations' World Conservation Strategy, part of which calls for "the maintenance of the support systems for fisheries and for the control of pollution". Moreover, this policy represents the first national example of a workable environmentally sustainable approach to resource management in Canada. Accordingly, the policy supports the goals of the World Commission on Environment and Development.

The Department will continue to address concerns for fish habitat management in international forums whose mandates have a bearing on fish habitat objectives. The International Joint Commission and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission will be supported in addressing bilateral issues that have a bearing on the health of fisheries resources. Advice will be provided, through the Departments of External Affairs and Transport, to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Marine Environmental Cooperative Agreement (MECA) on the subject of hazardous cargoes at sea, and environmental issues related to marine transport. Furthermore, technical and policy input will be provided by the Department in support of the Canadian position at the London Dumping Convention. The Department will also continue to cooperate with both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in their efforts to coordinate international research, monitoring and assessment programs.

The Department will support and provide advice to various international organizations in their efforts to help conserve the global aquatic resources from threats such as radioactive and toxic contamination, acid rain, the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and other detrimental climatic alterations.

1.4 Support for Government Priorities

The wise management of fish habitat supporting Canada's productive fisheries will ensure that the socioeconomic benefits and employment generated by the fisheries sector are not forfeited unknowingly by actions in other economic sectors and that the concerns of those other sectors are taken into account. Direct benefits of the policy will be as outputs from various fisheries activities: sometimes as a source of food; or as wholesome fish caught and sold; or as income and pleasure from the vast amount of recreational fishing taking place in Canada.

Government, private sector and citizen-initiated projects to restore degraded habitats will generate employment opportunities. Furthermore, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans recognizes the potential impact of fish habitat decisions on regional development, industrial development, other resource sectors, and public projects. The Department will consider the interests of other resource users and will strive under this policy to take reasonable, timely and consistent decisions to maintain and improve the productive capacity of fish habitats.

It is recognized that Native peoples could assume a greater role in local fisheries management and environmental protection in future. Through this policy, Fisheries and Oceans offers useful approaches for effective habitat conservation that could be implemented within the context of both Native claims and self government. The Department is prepared to cooperate with Native groups and the appropriate provincial and territorial fisheries agencies to develop programs, techniques and approaches to improve fish habitat management within their areas of interest.

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