Science Advisory Report  2014/019

Evaluation of a Fisheries Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) for the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline

Summary

• The Fisheries Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) is relevant; however, substantial changes are required to simplify the tool so that it aligns with the new Fisheries Protection Program (FPP) policy and can be tested.
• A decision framework should be built into the front end of the tool that asks basic questions regarding species that are part of, or support, a commercial, recreational or aboriginal (CRA) fishery and the likelihood of an activity being carried out in a manner that would result in sediment entering an active channel.
• Existing fish sensitivity categories should be removed and refined to reflect a broader suite of species present and habitat use by life history stage; including CRA/Species at Risk (SAR), and the species supporting CRA; and those which are most sensitive to sedimentation.
• Assessment should be done at the level of individual species instead of communities or biodiversity.
• Sediment fate prediction should be developed as part of the tool.
• The tool should incorporate hydrodynamic flow modelling to support the sediment fate model.
• Future research should focus on:
1. improving knowledge of habitat use by life history stage for species that are part of a CRA fishery, starting with those that are most sensitive to sediment,
2. acquiring data to inform distribution/occupancy models,
3. examining climate impacts on functionality of the tool, and
4. developing additional models to capture other physical inputs to broaden applicability of the tool.
• The FRAT will need to align with the new Fisheries Act and FPP once policy guidelines are set.
• A comparative analysis of species sensitivity to sedimentation needs to be undertaken, starting with species from this region.
• The final product should be a web-based tool.

This Science Advisory Report is from the November 27-29, 2013, Evaluation of a Fisheries Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) for the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline meeting. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

Complete document (PDF, 311 KB)

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