Tag Archives: Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
Scientists worry B.C. hatchery fish threatening endangered wild chinook
More chinook salmon populations have landed on the endangered species list in B.C.,, With many salmon runs experiencing the lowest returns on record, there has been mounting public pressure for the federal government to step up hatchery production through the Salmonid Enhancement Program. But conservation groups and scientists are sounding the alarm on the long-term consequences of high-volume hatcheries. >click to read< 09:38
More restrictions for Fraser River chinook fishermen
All but one of 13 Fraser River chinook populations assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada are currently at risk. New restrictions this year include maximum size limits of 80 cm in southern marine recreation fisheries to help mitigate risks to larger females, and an expanded fishing closure off the mouth of the Fraser River. Additional closures have been added in the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait for protection of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. >click to read< 09:35
Salmon or trout: What the heck is a steelhead, anyway?
Until just a few days ago, anyone interested in learning about B.C.’s struggling steelhead might stumble upon a website from Fisheries and Oceans Canada describing them as a type of Pacific salmon. The fish, according to this now-defunct page, “were at one time considered a trout species but have been discovered by biologists to be more closely related to Pacific salmon than other trout.”There’s just one problem with that: The current consensus is that steelhead aren’t salmon, they’re trout.,, A trout that behaves like a salmon click here to read the story 16:42 
Fraser River Sockeye salmon recommended for listing under Species At Risk Act
The recommendation, announced Monday by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, an independent scientific body that advises the federal government, is the most significant acknowledgement to date of the jeopardy facing the iconic red-bodied fish that was once the mainstay of British Columbia’s salmon industry. “It’s a signal of a larger issue,” said Eric Taylor, committee chair and fish ecologist at the University of British Columbia. “The Fraser River is having trouble supporting these fish.” click here to read the story 14:37
DFO, NSP knew that Annapolis tidal turbine killed fish
Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Nova Scotia Power have long known that the Annapolis tidal turbine kills significant numbers of fish. As a result, Acadia University professor and former Fisheries and Oceans scientist Michael Dadswell is accusing Nova Scotia Power of being in violation of the Fisheries Act and the federal department of not enforcing it. “Either (Fisheries and Oceans) does not pay attention to its own scientists or they have been in cahoots with Nova Scotia Power all these years to deny the extreme decimation of the Annapolis fish populations,” said Dadswell. click here to read the story 18:29
Canada: Atlantic bluefin tuna not listed as an endangered species
Atlantic bluefin tuna will not be listed on the endangered species list, a decision released Wednesday. The federal government’s final decision was published in the Canada Gazette saying it would not be listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Fisheries and Oceans Canada rejected advice to list the species as endangered last summer, saying western Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks have been rebuilding since 2011, when the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) said tuna should be listed as an endangered species under federal species-at-risk legislation. Included in the decision was the government’s rationale and the steps that will be taken to help in its recovery. If the species would have been listed on SARS, it would no longer have been allowed to be fished commercially. The in Halfax is calling on the government to take steps to work and conserve the species. (of course!) click here to read the story 08:21
Fishermen raise concerns over proposed measures that could harm lobster fishery
It was a concerned and frustrated group of fishermen that met with DFO officials Thursday in Yarmouth during a special meeting of the Lobster Fishing Area 34 Advisory Committee. The fishermen say proposed measures to help in the recovery of the cusk population – including a potential 10 per cent trap reduction for lobster licence holders – are based on incorrect data and, if implemented, would hurt the lobster industry. The LFA committee passed a motion to have another meeting in June, once the lobster season is over, with DFO and others to discuss the issue further. Fishermen attending the March 17 session said there doesn’t seem to be a problem with the cusk population and that the measures DFO is considering are unnecessary. Read the rest here 08:12
Atlantic cod, white hake recommended for endangered species list
The low number of white hake and Atlantic cod has led to the recommendation they be given endangered status by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Nearly half a million grey seals in the Northumberland Strait that feed on the fish are the main cause behind the recommendation, according to the committee. It’s also a combination of two other factors, said Hugues Benoit, head of the marines fish section at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “The available information we have now it does suggest that the combined effect of the low level of abundance of these fish species and high level of abundance of grey seals could be the cause of elevated natural mortality,” he said. Read the rest here 17:03
Coldwater Lobster Association wants more members, says many issues facing Nova Scotia industry
Coldwater Lobster Association, covering Lobster Fishing Area 34 in southwestern Nova Scotia, says there are issues that could have dire outcomes on the lobster industry. The association has around 80 members but says it would have more clout at the table with DFO and other groups if it was speaking for a larger percentage of the industry. One issue is a pending decision on whether to list cusk under the Species at Risk Act. COSEWIC(Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) is collecting opinion online and through consultations until March 18. The committee says the mature portion of the cusk population has declined by 85 per cent over three generations. Read the rest here 11:29
New research debunks myth that shark derbies have a significant impact on blue sharks
As it turns out, blue sharks are travellers. Sharks tagged off NovaScotia are being caught far fromCanadian waters. “A lot of these tags are being recaptured way off in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, often by Spanish fishermen of all things,” he says. Read the rest here 10:18
Conservationists appalled after Ottawa raises Atlantic bluefin tuna quota
“The government should be going through the Species at Risk Act process so we are certain” that the bluefin catch can be sustainably increased, David Miller, the president of World Wildlife Fund Canada, said Monday. Read the rest here 00:25 Stop whining!
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC): Endangering an industry
It all began in the fall of 2013 when reports surfaced about the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) making recommendations to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to list Atlantic cod under the Species at Risk Act. Read more here 23:19
Cod not in danger, researcher George Rose says
George Rose, a former federal fisheries scientist who has studied cod for decades, said while stocks are not as plentiful as they once were, they are not nearing extinction. “I don’t really believe that there is any danger for any of these species — cod, redfish or plaice — going biologically extinct,” Rose told CBC News in a telephone interview. more@cbcnews 13:26
Scientists fear Canada will fish bluefin tuna and other species to extinction
Top marine scientists are denouncing Canada’s management of fish stocks as a commercially driven approach threatening to wipe out species at risk. Read more
