Measures to protect fish and fish habitat

Comply with the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act by incorporating measures to avoid:

causing the death of fish
harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat in your work, undertaking or activity

Works, undertaking or activities where impacts to fish and fish habitat can be avoided if you can follow the measures to protect fish and fish habitat include:

bridge maintenance
on-land mineral exploration activities
decking repairs for docks, piers, wharves and bridges

You’re responsible for reviewing the complete list of measures and implementing those that are applicable to your work, undertaking or activity. If you can’t completely implement the protection measures, check if your project needs a review.

Prevent the death of fish

You can prevent the death of fish by:

avoiding killing fish by means other than fishing
avoiding using explosives in or near water
planning in water work, undertaking or activity to respect timing windows to protect fish, including:

their eggs
juveniles
spawning adults
the organisms upon which they feed and migrate

Maintain riparian vegetation

Measures to maintain riparian vegetation include:

maintaining an undisturbed vegetated buffer zone between areas of on-land activity and the high water mark of any water body
using existing trails, roads or cut lines wherever possible
avoiding tree removal
using methods to prevent soil compaction, such as swamp mats or pads

Carry out works, undertakings and activities on land

You can prevent the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat by avoiding:

conducting any work, undertaking or activity in water
placing fill or other temporary or permanent structures below the high water mark
fording of the watercourse
disturbing or removing materials from the banks, shoreline or waterbody bed, such as:

sand
rocks
aquatic vegetation
natural wood debris

building structures in areas that:
- may result in erosion and/or scouring of the stream bed or banks
- are inherently unstable, like:
  - bends
  - meanders
  - floodplains
  - alluvial fans
  - braided streams

Maintain fish passage

Maintain fish passage by avoiding:

changing flow or water level
obstructing or interfering with the movement and migration of fish

Ensure proper sediment control

Ensure proper sediment control by:

avoiding introducing sediment in the water, like:

silts
clays
sands

developing and implementing an erosion and sediment control plan

installing effective erosion and sediment control measures to stabilize all erodible and exposed areas
regularly inspecting and maintaining the erosion and sediment control measures during all phases of the project
keeping the erosion and sediment control measures in place until all disturbed ground has been permanently stabilized
installing settling basin and/or filtration system for water flowing onto the site and water being pumped or diverted from the site, including:
- holding back runoff water until suspended sediment has resettled in the settling basin and runoff water is clear
- dewatering gradually to prevent sediment resuspension and bank destabilization

disposing of and stabilizing all excavated material above the high water mark or top of bank of nearby waterbodies and ensuring sediment re-entry to the watercourse is prevented
heeding weather advisories and scheduling work to avoid wet, windy and rainy periods that may result in high flow volumes and/ or increase erosion and sedimentation
regularly monitoring the watercourse for signs of sedimentation during all phases of the work, undertaking or activity and taking corrective action if required
using biodegradable erosion and sediment control materials whenever possible and removing all exposed non-biodegradable erosion and sediment control materials once site is stabilized
operating machinery on land in stable dry areas
stopping work and containing sediment-laden water to prevent dispersal
installing temporary clear span bridges to accommodate expected high water flows and to not damage erodible banks
limiting the impacts to stream or shoreline banks

Prevent entry of deleterious substances in water

Prevent entry of deleterious substances in water by:

avoiding depositing any deleterious substances in the watercourse
developing a response plan to be implemented immediately in the event of a spill of a deleterious substance
keeping an emergency spill kit on site
stopping work and containing deleterious substances to prevent dispersal
reporting any spills of sewage, oil, fuel or other deleterious material whether near or directly into a water body
ensuring clean-up measures are suitably applied so as not to result in further alteration of the bed and/or banks of the watercourse
cleaning up and appropriately disposing of the deleterious substances
planning activities near water such that materials and chemicals don’t enter the watercourse, including:

grout
paint
primers
degreasers
rust solvents
poured concrete
blasting abrasives
or other chemicals

maintaining all machinery on site in a clean condition and free of fluid leaks to prevent any deleterious substances from entering the water
washing, refueling and servicing machinery and store fuel and other materials for the machinery in such a way as to prevent any deleterious substances from entering the water
disposing all waste materials (including construction, demolition, excavation, commercial logging) above the high water mark of nearby waterbodies to prevent entry
ensuring that building material used in a watercourse is handled and treated in a manner to prevent the release or leaching of substances into the water that may be deleterious to fish

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