Endangered Species

Canada was one of the first industrialized countries to sign the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992, thus confirming its commitment to biodiversity and species at risk.

The Species at Risk Act, which came into force in 2003, protects species at risk on federal public lands, as well as their critical habitat. It also includes recovery strategies for endangered or threatened species. And, while 14 species have recovered from their at-risk status over the years, more species continue to struggle.

According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), 487 plant and animal species are currently at risk in Canada. Another 13 species are already extinct. Habitat destruction and environmental contamination are the primary reasons for species becoming threatened, endangered, at risk or extinct. About 60 per cent of species that COSEWIC identifies as being at risk are affected by habitat problems. Invasive plants and animals also cause species to become threatened, as introduced species can compete with native wild species and push the native species out of their natural habitat.

All of the above affect threatened species in our oceans. But species in the oceans face even greater challenges. Some fish stocks, for instance, face added pressures from overfishing and unselective fishing. We can minimize the catch of specific stocks by limiting the time and place where fishing occurs, but fishing is not perfectly selective and we cannot guarantee that species of concern are not also captured. The Cultus Lake sockeye and the Sakinaw Lake sockeye are two Pacific salmon stocks that face pressure from unselective fishing.

Political and economic concerns often combine with biological threats to increase risk to endangered stocks. Since 1992 the number of successfully spawning Cultus Lake and Sakinaw Lake sockeye have continued to drop. Reasons for the decline have been numerous, including fishing, predation and poor marine survival. In 2002, COSEWIC gave both stocks an emergency designation – being “immediately listed as endangered because both populations have declined to critically low levels”. Yet, they are not on the list.

“Listing Cultus and Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon – which make up less than one per cent of all B.C. sockeye salmon populations – under SARA could cost the sockeye fishing industry $125 million in lost revenue by 2008. There would also be significant impacts on First Nations Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries, many coastal communities dependent on the fishing industry, sports fishing, tourism and other related industries.” (Ministry of the Environment, 2005 http://www.ec.gc.ca/press/2004/041022_n_e.htm)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has implemented recovery plans, but it remains to be seen whether these will be adequate to bring stocks back from the brink.

The David Suzuki Foundation recently completed an analysis of the species that have been given scientific designation as threatened or endangered. Left off the List assesses the reasons for these omissions and recommends ways to protect Canada’s endangered species.

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