Question Period Note: Aquatic Invasive Species

Aquatic Invasive Species

• Our government understands the importance of protecting the biodiversity and quality of Canada’s waters.
• We are implementing a new program to better coordinate our work to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in Canada’s waters.
• Management of aquatic invasive species is a responsibility the federal government shares with provincial and territorial governments and we continue to work closely with them, along with our US counterparts, to support prevention and response activities to protect our mutual resources.

Background
Aquatic Invasive Species
• Aquatic invasive species (AIS) pose a serious threat to fish, fish habitat, use of aquatic resources (i.e. fisheries, aquaculture, and recreational industries), and species at risk across Canada.
• AIS of public interest across Canada include:
o Zebra and quagga mussels
o Asian carps (4 species)
o European green crab
o Invasive tunicates (e.g. vase, clubbed, and violet tunicates)
• The AIS Regulations came into force in 2015 under the Fisheries Act to provide tools for federal action and partnerships with provincial and territorial governments, setting significant expectations regarding Canada’s collective ability to manage AIS. The Regulations list over 164 aquatic species as invasive, requiring prohibitions or controls.
• Budget 2017/18 provided $43.8 million in funding over 5 years and $10.6 million ongoing for national AIS management.
• DFO’s AIS National Core Program was established to implement the AIS Regulations in Canadian waters, to act on sound scientific and other advice, and to report nationally on AIS activities.
• Implementation of the AIS Regulations is a shared priority and responsibility across jurisdictions and orders of government. Some provinces and territories take the lead for freshwater AIS while DFO leads for marine AIS.
• Provinces also spend significant amounts to prevent and manage AIS. For example, Quebec invests $8 million a year and is investing an additional $8 million over 5 years to combat aquatic invasive plants. The Invasive Mussel Defense Program in British Columbia has an annual budget of nearly $4 million. Alberta also has a significant budget targeted at invasive mussels.
• The Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development conducted an audit of the new National Program and released its findings on April 2nd, 2019.
• DFO accepts the recommendations of the Auditor and has implemented an action plan to address them.
Miramichi Lake
• Smallmouth Bass was discovered in September 2008 in Miramichi Lake, a headwater lake in the southwest Miramichi river watershed. This watershed, along with other river systems in New Brunswick, is recognized as one of the most productive Atlantic salmon rivers in the world. Smallmouth Bass is an effective predator and competitor of other fish, including salmon.
• DFO, as the regulator, is currently working with the Province and the proponent, the North Shore Micmac District Council, to review the application for an authorization pursuant to subsection 19(3) of the Aquatic Invasive species Regulation under the Fisheries Act for the use of Rotenone to eradicate invasive Smallmouth Bass from Miramichi Lake.
• The Department has committed to making a timely decision on the rotenone application project by March 2020.
• In evaluating the use of deleterious substances, the Department has to consider implications not only for native Atlantic salmon, but also impacts on other species at risk, other wildlife, and public safety.
• DFO continues to maintain barriers to prevent the invasive Smallmouth Bass from escaping Miramichi lake and annually invests approximately $50k on different physical methods for capturing individuals of all ages and sizes in Miramichi lake (e.g. electrofishing, trapping, netting, and seining).
• The Atlantic Salmon Federation advocates for chemical eradication, but according to a 2018 DFO technical report, the control and monitoring activities for Smallmouth Bass in Miramichi Lake have successfully kept the population of this invasive fish at levels close to depletion, thereby allowing for the viability of the indigenous fish such as Atlantic Salmon.
• Two DFO scientific reviews found that chemical eradication methods for Smallmouth Bass to date have been primarily applied to smaller systems with varying degrees of success.
Miramichi River
• The presence of Smallmouth Bass was first reported in the Southwest Miramichi River, downstream from Miramichi Lake, in August 2019.
• The Department is collaborating with the Province, the Atlantic Salmon Federation and First Nations to control the invasive species by containing its spread and removing any captured specimens.
• The Department is also developing a long-term plan for the management of this aquatic invasive species in the Miramichi River watershed using an integrated management approach based on prevention, detection, response and control, as well as sustained collaboration with partners.
• Activities that have taken place in the Miramichi River and certain tributaries in the summer-fall 2019 include line fishing (angling), electrofishing (using backpack or boats equipped with an electrofishing device), netting, collection of eDNA samples to determine the spread of the invasion, and collaborating with the University of New Brunswick to use a radio-Isotope method to determine the source of the Smallmouth Bass captured in the river.

Invasive Smallmouth Bass in the Miramichi System
• Our government understands the importance of protecting the biodiversity and quality of Canada's waters, including in New Brunswick.
• While native to some parts of Canada, Smallmouth Bass is invasive in the Miramichi system. The Department is currently working with partners to evaluate the request to authorize the use of a pesticide to eradicate Smallmouth Bass in Miramichi Lake.
• In the meantime, DFO and its partners are continuing on-going activities of containment, control and monitoring of Smallmouth Bass in Miramichi Lake.
Asian Carp
• In 2017, our government invested $16 million over five years and $4 million on-going in the Asian Carp Program to ensure Canadas’s Great Lakes are well protected from harmful impacts of Asian carps.
• Our government takes a comprehensive preventative approach to address the threat of these species.
• To date, none has become established in the Great Lakes thanks to structured, organized responses.
Sea Lamprey
• The Sea Lamprey Control Program is administered by the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission to protect native fish species and the fishery in the Great Lakes.
• In accordance with a bi-national agreement, Canada contributes over $9.5 million annually to the control and management of Sea Lamprey in the Great Lakes.
• Sea lampreys are at or close to targets in all Great Lakes because of the long-term commitment to the program.