Question Period Note: Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) –Port of Quebec Expansion and COSEWIC Status Reassessment

Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) –Port of Quebec Expansion and COSEWIC Status Reassessment

• Protecting the environment and biodiversity is a priority for the Government of Canada. Protecting and recovering species at risk is a shared responsibility, and our government is working with all Canadians in implementing the Species at Risk Act.
• The Port of Quebec expansion project is currently undergoing a rigorous environmental assessment, a process based on science and extensive consultations with Indigenous peoples and the public.
• No decisions have been made at this time as to whether the Project will be allowed to proceed to the regulatory phase and whether authorizations or permits under the Fisheries Act or Species at Risk Act will be required. As Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) is an endangered species, it and other aquatic species will be carefully considered when reviewing such applications.

Background
Striped Bass
• The Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) was assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Extirpated in 2004 and listed as such under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2011. In 2012, COSEWIC reassessed the population as Endangered and its status under SARA was updated in August 2019. On November 25, 2019, COSEWIC reconsidered the status of Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) and reassessed it as Extinct, to rectify what it considers to have been an error made in its 2012 reassessment. COSEWIC announced this change on December 2, 2019. This reassessment will have management impacts for DFO in terms of project approvals and fisheries.
• The re-establishment of Striped Bass in the St. Lawrence River is the result of a successful reintroduction program initiated by the Province of Quebec in 2002 using fish from the Miramichi River (Gulf of St. Lawrence Striped Bass population). A self-sustaining spawning population has now been established and the population is increasing and expanding its distribution.
• However, because COSEWIC has changed its approach to assessing populations where re-establishment using fish from another area has taken place, it appears that COSEWIC no longer considers the re-established population currently inhabiting the St. Lawrence River to be members of the St. Lawrence River population. This effectively suggests that the Striped Bass found in the St. Lawrence River currently have no COSEWIC status.
• In the meantime, the St. Lawrence River population remains listed under SARA as endangered. SARA imposes prohibitions against harming fish and requirements for the protection of critical habitat.
• The location of the existing Port of Quebec (at Beauport) and proposed area for expansion of a wharf at that location overlaps with Striped Bass critical habitat. This area, which has unique hydrographical features, has been identified as a significant aggregation area used for Striped Bass spawning.
• The Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) habitat is currently protected by other federal regulatory mechanisms, including subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act, which prohibits carrying on any work, undertaking or activity that results in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.

Port of Quebec (Beauport 2020)
• The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) is proposing to extend eastward by 610 metres the existing wharf to add two deep-water berths to its bulk transport facilities in the Beauport sector.
• The project is undergoing an environmental assessment (EA) under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency). The Agency is also coordinating Indigenous Crown consultation activities.
• The Project as proposed would result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat and could jeopardize the survival or recovery of the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population), including the destruction of critical habitat. Completion of the Project would largely or wholly destroy breeding habitat, as well as overwintering, growing and foraging habitats used by the species. Based on analysis to date, it appears that Project impacts resulting in the loss of critical habitat cannot be offset.
• Activities, including those in areas of critical habitat, may only be permitted under the Species at Risk Act as long as they meet certain conditions, most particularly, that mitigation measures are taken and that the activities do not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species.
• In early 2018, the proponent submitted its Striped Bass-related data to DFO. The Department used a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) peer-review process to assess the validity of the data and methodology of their analysis.
• The CSAS concluded that the information provided by the proponent was inconclusive and would not change the critical habitat identification.
• The proponent submitted additional information collected during 2018 pertaining to critical habitat identification and requested an additional review. The Province of Quebec has been reviewing this additional information along with all previously submitted information and is targeting publication of a report in December 2019.

Status of Striped Bass
• The scientific Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada has recently reassessed the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) as extinct.
• We are reviewing the COSEWIC findings, which appear to focus on the historical Striped Bass population in the St. Lawrence River
• The fact is that there are Striped Bass present in the St. Lawrence River as a result of provincial stocking efforts that began in 2002. The requirements of the Fisheries Act related to the protection of fish and fish habitat apply to these fish, regardless of their status under the Species at Risk Act.