Terms of Reference

Characterization of Fishery Effects on Valued Species, Habitat and Ecosystem Components of the Proposed Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area

Regional Peer Review Meeting - Pacific Region

August 6-7, 2014
Nanaimo, BC

Chairperson: John Holmes

Context

Canada's Oceans Act and Oceans Strategy commit Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to leading the development and implementation of a sustainable, precautionary and integrated ecosystem approach to oceans management. As part of this commitment, the Oceans Program is coordinating efforts within DFO and across other Federal and Provincial agencies to develop bioregional networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Pacific region, and contribute to integrated ecosystem based management approaches both regionally and nationally.  This effort in the Pacific Region is being coordinated through a joint Federal/Provincial team called the Marine Protected Area Implementation Team (MPAIT).

The first marine National Wildlife Area being proposed which will contribute to the Network is the Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area (NWA).

In Budget 2007 and Budget 2013 Government committed to developing a proposal to create the Scott Islands NWA. National Wildlife Areas are established under the Canada Wildlife Act. The Scott Islands NWA is being established to protect the marine habitat of the largest and most diverse seabird colony in Pacific Canada, in the context of a marine ecosystem-based management approach. The vision and goals for this area are consistent with the Canada Wildlife Act and take into account the broader regional context within which the proposed marine NWA is situated. The vision is for a marine National Wildlife Area around the Scott Islands that conserves seabird populations as a vital part of a healthy marine ecosystem that also sustains the socio-economic and cultural values of present and future generations.

Current activities will be managed, and new activities assessed, to mitigate detrimental effects on the marine environment and in keeping with the conservation objectives for the NWA. Protecting high-quality functioning habitat now is far less expensive than restoring degraded habitats in the future. The NWA will bring an enhanced focus to research, monitoring, surveillance and enforcement in order to meet the conservation objectives for the seabirds and the highly productive marine environment.

Environment Canada is the lead Federal Department for the establishment of NWAs.  The proposed Vision and Goals for the Scott Islands NWA identified in the Regulatory Strategy for the Designation of the Proposed Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area (Environment Canada, 2013) are:

Vision: A marine National Wildlife Area around the Scott Islands that conserves seabird populations as a vital part of a healthy marine ecosystem that also sustains the socio-economic and cultural values of present and future generations.

Goal 1: The natural habitats, ecosystem linkages and marine resources that support seabird populations nesting on the Scott Islands are protected and conserved. 

Goal 2: The risk of adverse effects on the breeding productivity and survival of seabirds resulting from human activities is mitigated in keeping with the conservation and protection objectives.

Goal 3: The marine NWA is managed in a manner that recognizes the authorities for management of human activities in the marine environment and takes into account the socio-economic and cultural values sustained by the marine ecosystem.

Goal 4: Understanding of the marine ecosystem and socio-economic and cultural values informs management of the marine National Wildlife Area.

There are over forty species of marine birds that utilize the area for breeding and/or feeding, including five species that are presently listed by the Species at Risk Act (SARA) under Schedule 1 as Threatened (e.g. Marbled Murrelet, Short-tailed Albatross, Pink-footed Shearwater) or of Special Concern (e.g. Ancient Murrelet, Black-footed Albatross). Commercial fishing occurs in the NWA area. This activity can have a variety of impacts on marine birds, their natural habitats, and the ecosystem linkages and marine resources that support them.

Departmental mandates of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) speak to Canada’s commitments to manage anthropogenic impacts, including fishing, in a manner that insures sustainable utilization, conservation of biodiversity, no net loss of fisheries habitat and protection of species at risk. The legal precedence for this mandate is derived at the national level under the Fisheries Act and the SARA, and under ratified international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 61/105. These regulations and international agreements provide the characteristics and definitions of what is legally “important”.

In 2013, DFO released a national Policy on Managing Bycatch and Implementation Guidelines for the Policy.  It applies to all non-retained catch, including birds that become entangled in fishing gear, in commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries managed under the Fisheries Act. As with other policies under the Sustainable Fisheries Framework, the implementation of the Policy on Managing Bycatch will be phased in over time through existing Integrated Fisheries Management Planning processes. 

Since 2008, DFO and EC have worked together in a Seabird Bycatch Working Group to share data on seabird bycatch within numerous fisheries, review and analyze bycatch data, and explore options for mitigating seabird bycatch. The work recognises EC’s responsibilities for  seabirds and the tools DFO has to mitigate the impacts of fisheries on seabirds and has resulted in the provision of available data on seabird bycatch to EC. Seabird bycatch mitigation measures have also been introduced in licence conditions for groundfish fisheries. Prohibitions are in place against killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking any marine birds listed as Threatened, Endangered or Extirpated under SARA, unless authorized or permitted under section 73 or 74 of SARA.

An evaluation on the nature and extent of risks from commercial fishing activities, on a selection of representative marine bird species that occur within the proposed Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area, has been undertaken through a collaborative EC/DFO project.  This risk assessment has been informed by two DFO Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Regional Peer Review processes; (1)  Risk-based Assessment Framework to Identify Priorities for Ecosystem-based Oceans Management in the Pacific Region (DFO 2012) and (2) The extent and nature of exposure to fishery induced remobilized sediment on the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reef (Boutillier et al. 2013).  

While EC is the lead for the establishment of NWAs, DFO retains the regulatory authority for management of fisheries within NWAs.  Therefore, in consultation with EC, DFO’s Ecosystem Management Branch (Oceans Program) and Fisheries Management have requested that Science Branch provide advice regarding the extent and nature of risks from commercial fishing activities on marine bird species, their habitats, and the ecosystem functioning and community properties within the proposed Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area.

Departmental mandates of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) speak to Canada’s commitments to manage anthropogenic impacts, including fishing, in a manner that insures sustainable utilization, conservation of biodiversity, no net loss of fisheries habitat and protection of species at risk. The legal precedence for this mandate is derived at the national level under the Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and under ratified international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 61/105. These regulations and international agreements provide the characteristics and definitions of what is legally “important”.

The information and advice resulting from this request will be used to inform the development of an integrated ecosystem management plan for the Scott Islands NWA, identify information gaps and research needs in the understanding of fisheries/marine bird interactions in the NWA geographic area, and contribute more broadly to the development of the Northern Shelf Bioregion MPA Network in the Pacific region.

Objectives

The following working paper will provide the basis for discussion and advice respecting the objectives outlined below:

Authors: J. A. Boutillier.  Characterization and Analysis of Fisheries related Risks to Valued Species, Habitats and Ecosystem/Community Properties within the proposed Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area CSAP Working Paper 2014-15/OCN06

1. Characterize and evaluate the nature and extent of the risks posed by commercial fishing activities, taking into account current management measures within the proposed Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area, to;
   1. Marine bird species (a sub-set of the species will be examined);
   2. Habitats used by marine birds and their prey species; and,
   3. Ecosystem, functioning and community properties.
2. Identify information gaps and additional research necessary to evaluate the nature and extent of risks and consequences not possible in (1). 
3. Discuss the strengths and challenges of ERAF application in this context.

Expected publications

• CSAS Science Advisory Report (1)
• CSAS Research Document (1)
• CSAS Proceedings

Participation

• DFO Science,
• DFO Ecosystem Management Branch (Fisheries Protection, Species at Risk, Oceans Program)
• DFO Fisheries Management
• Environment Canada
• Natural Resources Canada
• Province of BC
• Parks Canada
• First Nations
• Academia
• Environmental Non-government Organizations
• Fishing Industry

Additional Information

Environment Canada. 2013.  Regulatory Strategy for the Designation of the Proposed Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area.

DFO. 2012. Risk-based Assessment Framework to Identify Priorities for Ecosystem-based Oceans Management in the Pacific Region. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2012/044.

Boutillier, J., Masson, D., Fain, I., Conway, K., Lintern, G, O, M., Davies, S., Mahaux, P., Olsen, N., Nguyen, H. and Rutherford, K. 2013. The extent and nature of exposure to fishery induced remobilized sediment on the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reef. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2013/075. viii + 76 p.