Terms of Reference

Conservation translocations of SARA-listed freshwater fishes and mussels

National Peer Review – National Capital Region

October 19-22, 2021
Virtual Meeting

Chairperson: Keith Clarke

Context

For freshwater fishes and mussels listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), a federal recovery strategy or management plan is required that identifies recovery targets and the related recovery measures for best achieving population and distribution objectives. Conservation translocations^{Footnote 1} are commonly identified as potential measures to improve the survival or recovery of Endangered, Threatened and Extirpated species, or the management of Special Concern species.

Approximately one-third of the federal recovery strategies or management plans for SARA-listed freshwater fish and mussel species have identified conservation translocation, specifically supplementation^{Footnote 2} or reintroduction^{Footnote 3}, as a potential approach for improving survival and/or recovery; however, it has occurred infrequently (Lamothe and Drake 2019). Limited progress in undertaking conservation translocations has been the result of basic information gaps (e.g., on species distribution, abundance, habitat associations), as well as uncertainty about how to assess the potential ecological benefits and risks to freshwater species and ecosystems from proposed conservation translocations.

Although conservation translocations have been identified as recovery or management measures for many SARA-listed freshwater fish and mussel species, the scientific rationale for proposing these actions for some species and not others remains unclear. Science advice is therefore needed about the potential benefits and risks of conservation translocations to support the survival, recovery or management of SARA-listed freshwater fishes and mussels, which will ensure consistency in their application.

Objectives

• To identify and evaluate the potential benefits and risks of conservation translocation as a tool for improving the survival, recovery or management of SARA-listed freshwater fish and mussel species;
• To identify science-based considerations and methods for determining when conservation translocation could improve the survival, recovery or management of SARA-listed freshwater fishes and mussels.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF)
• Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec (MFFP)
• Academia

References

• IUCN/SSC. 2013. Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations. Version 1.0. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission, viiii + 57 pp.

• Lamothe, K.A., and Drake, D.A.R. 2019. Moving repatriation efforts forward for imperilled Canadian freshwater fishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 76(10): 1914-1921.

• Seddon, P.J., Strauss, W.M., and Innes, J. 2012. Animal translocations: what are they and why do we do them? In: Reintroduction Biology: Integrating Sciences and Management. First edition. J.G. Ewen, D.P. Armstrong, K.A. Parker, and P.J. Seddon (eds). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pg. 1-32.