Proceedings - 2007/030

Proceedings of the lake sturgeon recovery planning workshop, 28 February to 1 March 2006

Summary

Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in Canada have been reduced by harvesting, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. This workshop brought together stakeholders, Aboriginal and First Nations representatives, regulators and recovery planning experts to discuss sturgeon management and recovery issues in anticipation that the species may be listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Overall, the same factors responsible for decline of the sturgeon populations continue to pose obstacles to population recovery. Participants identified the needs to: 1) fill gaps in scientific knowledge, 2) create partnerships, 3) use scientific and traditional knowledge, 4) mitigate habitat fragmentation/loss, and 5) evaluate recovery success as the highest (listed first) priority issues for species recovery. Actions were recommended in the areas of planning, research, monitoring, management and regulation, and public education and outreach. To properly address the range and depth of the interests involved in recovery of the lake sturgeon, the establishment of a core "Recovery Team" was recommended. Its mandate would be to develop and implement an appropriate recovery plan for the lake sturgeon that is consistent with SARA. The Recovery Team would be led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and include representatives of fish and water management agencies, groups that impact sturgeon populations, existing management boards, and affected communities not represented by these boards. To ensure a workable sized Recovery Team, each member would represent a larger constituency that might be based on a watershed, province, designatable unit, or some other criteria. To accomplish its task the Recovery Team will require political, public, and community support.

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