September 19, 2007
VANCOUVER -- The federal government must give Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) the resources to put more boots on the ground with more tools to protect aquatic environments, according to the David Suzuki Foundation.
An investigation by the Foundation into nine instances of significant damage to fish habitat found that little or no action was taken by the DFO on cases reported to them, in part because of staff shortages and budget and time constraints, and in part because of policies that appear to restrict DFO staff.
"Our investigators found that in many cases DFO staff simply could not respond and that they sometimes relied too heavily on information provided by project proponents about what was or was not fish habitat," said DSF salmon conservation biologist John Werring.
The B.C. government was equally incapable of adequately dealing with these matters, leaving fish habitat even more vulnerable to damage or destruction.
The DSF report, High and Dry: An Investigation of Salmon-Habitat Destruction in British Columbia, recommends that the federal and provincial governments put more resources into programs that ensure habitat protection. This includes hiring more inspection and enforcement staff; conducting routine, random site inspections; monitoring permit compliance; and using strong enforcement measures as a deterrent to prevent further habitat loss and ensure future compliance.
"DFO and the provinces must be able to monitor threats to habitat and enforce relevant laws and permits. What is needed is the will to protect. Right now, this is not happening," Mr. Werring said. "Habitat protection is too important to be left entirely up to industry, which seems to be the case today."
DFO's own numbers show that enforcement activity by the department has dropped from 120 occurrences in 2002/2003 to just 25 in 2005/2006. In addition, DFO is currently spending only about five per cent of its entire budget on enforcement. "Considering this is a key role for the department, capacity for habitat-enforcement should at least be doubled," Mr. Werring said.
Degradation or loss of stream and river habitat in British Columbia has already contributed to the extinction of more than 142 salmon stocks, and another 620 stocks are at high risk of extinction.
To download the summary or full report, go to www.davidsuzuki.org.
