DFO Holds Consultations For Species At Risk Legal Listings and Rockfish

VANCOUVER - Fisheries and Oceans Canada has invited First Nations, stakeholders, interested organizations and individuals to attend two separate consultation workshops. From January 26 ­ February 16, consultation meetings will be held to discuss whether the Government of Canada should legally list under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) ten aquatic species recently designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The workshops will be held in areas of the province where these species are a concern. In order to coordinate consultation efforts, in five of the locations workshops will also be held in the evening to discuss proposed Rockfish Conservation Areas.

Recently, COSEWIC designated ten aquatic species in the Pacific region as at risk. This list includes: Blue Whale, Sei Whale, Humpback Whale, Enos Lake Stickleback, Speckled Dace, Salish Sucker, Cultus Lake Sockeye, Sakinaw Lake Sockeye, Interior Fraser Coho and Bocaccio.

The Government of Canada is committed to consulting with Canadians on the impacts of adding these species to Schedule 1, the legal list of SARA before the Minister develops recommendations for further action to be presented to the Governor in Council. For more information on the workshops and the legal listing process, please refer to the DFO SARA consultation website:

In addition to the workshops, comments on the advantages and disadvantages of legally listing these species can be submitted to the Department through the website or by completing a consultation workbook. The workbook is available at the workshops, on the website, or through local DFO offices, beginning January 26. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will also be conducting separate meetings with First Nations, particularly those directly affected by the COSEWIC designations.

In the evening, following the SARA Legal Listing consultations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be holding information workshops to review the results of the Department¹s 2003 consultations to establish new Rockfish Conservation Areas.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been developing a Rockfish/Lingcod Sustainability Strategy with First Nations, key stakeholders and interested members of the public since 1999. After broad consultation, in 2002 the Department implemented 28 interim Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs), and received proposals for more than 100 additional sites. In June 2003, the Department began a four month consultative process to review the existing interim areas and the additional candidate sites. The Department met with First Nations, recreational and commercial fishermen, the conservation community and interested members of the public, and received well over 400 comments on the proposed RCAs and existing interim areas.

The boundaries that define the candidate sites have been revised to ensure that concerns were considered and addressed, where possible. As a result of the extensive review, 89 candidate sites are being proposed as the areas representative of rockfish habitat which will be closed to hook and line fishing for rockfish. These areas are being established to provide a network of closed areas where rockfish can maintain high levels of productivity and begin rebuilding.

For further information on the Rockfish Conservation Strategy and the workshops, please visit:

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Contact:

Christiane Cote
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Communications
604-666-8072