What You Should Know About Fish Habitat

What You Should Know About Fish Habitat

What Is Fish Habitat and Why Is It Important?

Fish need healthy places to live, feed and reproduce. The places that supply fish with their requirements for food, shelter, water, reproduction and growth over their life cycle are called fish habitat. For most fish species, these activities usually occur in nearshore areas. Lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, marshes, wetlands, canals, drains, and even hay meadows under water can sustain fish life. If you own or lease waterfront property, or are working on a project in or near water, your actions can affect fish, as well as birds and wildlife that live along the shore.

Habitat requirements may change for each stage in a fish's lifecycle, from egg to adult. If some fish requirements are not met due to loss of habitat, their numbers may drop and in time, the entire population may die out.

It's therefore important that we protect habitat that provides fish with clean water, spawning and rearing grounds, an adequate food supply and clear migration routes. Canada's fisheries resources provide great social, economic and environmental benefits, but they are also finite and vulnerable and therefore must be protected and managed for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Working Around Water fact sheets were prepared to provide information on fish habitat and to assist you in the planning and approvals processes necessary for projects in and around water. The fact sheets also outline best management practices for common waterfront projects, such as boat house and dock construction, building beaches, controlling aquatic plants, shoreline construction, erosion control and shoreline restoration.

Our Actions Can Threaten Fish Habitat

Unfortunately, fish habitat is vulnerable to a variety of threats that are apparent only after the fish are gone.

Some threats, like the release of municipal wastewater high in ammonia, kill fish downstream in a matter of minutes. Other threats, like clearing trees and shrubs from shorelines, or spraying dandelions on a river-front property, damage habitat over several years, gradually depleting fish populations.

Poorly installed watercourse crossings of all kinds may block fish passage and release sediment from construction and washouts. For example, at high flows, undersized culverts can turn into water cannons that repel even the most powerful fish.




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Clearing land for farming, forestry, urban development, building drainage ditches, and straightening channels cause higher peak flows in spring. High flows can create obstacles to upstream fish movement and suspend more sediment in the water, making it more difficult for some fish, such as pike or trout, to find food. Peak flows are often followed by rapid declines in flow rate that can strand fish upstream and dry out recently spawned fish eggs.

Other threats include effluent leaking from septic tanks, and runoff containing pesticides and fertilizers (including manure) from fields, all of which add nutrients to lakes and streams, stimulating algal blooms. Algal blooms have a negative impact on water quality, and can be fatal to aquatic organisms due to the release of algal toxins. In addition, when the blooms die, they consume a lot of the dissolved oxygen, leaving fish to suffocate.

Removing gravel and rocks from shorelines destroys potential spawning habitat. Clearing aquatic "weeds" and vegetation near shore removes protective cover for fish and the invertebrates they eat.

Working Together to Protect Fish Habitat

The federal Fisheries Act provides for the protection of fish habitat (including spawning grounds, nursery and rearing areas, areas of food supply and migration routes). Under this Act, no one may carry out any work that harmfully alters, disrupts or destroys fish habitat unless authorized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Also, no one may deposit a deleterious (harmful) substance in water frequented by fish. Violations can result in substantial fines, the risk of imprisonment, and a requirement to cover the costs of returning the site to its original state.

For more details, please see the brochures What the Law Requires and Guidelines for Attaining No Net Loss prepared by the department.

These brochures provide information about the Fisheries Act, authorizations, the department's Fish Habitat Policy, as well as your responsibilities under this Act. Authorizations may also be required if your project involves killing fish by means other than fishing (e.g. using explosives in water), or if it creates a barrier to fish migration. Only the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans can authorize these activities.

In Alberta there are also several provincial acts which may apply when planning your project (e.g. Water Act, Public Lands Act, Municipal Government Act, and the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act). In addition, other federal approvals may be required. For instance, in-water structures that may block navigation may require approval by Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Navigable Water Protection Program due to navigation requirements.

If your project involves work in or near water, you will likely require approvals from both the provincial government and from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. These approvals to proceed with your project may or may not be granted simultaneously and can take some time, so apply for approvals early!




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To find out more about projects that will likely result in fish habitat alterations, disruptions or destruction, call your local Fisheries and Oceans Canada office, listed on the back of this fact sheet. The Working Around Water? series of fact sheets was prepared to help you plan your project with fish habitat protection in mind.

Whatever your project, our fact sheets will explain how to undertake your work it in a way that is environmentally sound. They outline the best management practices for common projects such as constructing boathouses and docks, building beaches and stabilizing shorelines. Fact sheets also provide information about building materials and erosion control. A list of available fact sheets is included.

A goal of fisheries management programs in Alberta is to achieve a net gain in fish habitat. You can help accomplish this goal by working with agency staff to protect fish habitat in our lakes, rivers and streams, thereby ensuring healthy fish populations for future generations.

Information You'll Need to Provide

When applying for federal or provincial approvals or permits, your proposed project can be assessed and approved more quickly when accurate and detailed information is provided. Therefore, always be sure to include with your application at least the following basic information:

• Your name, address, telephone number and fax number (if available).
• Name and location of the body of water, including applicable lot and block numbers, or the section, township, range and municipality, along with latitude and longitude, if known.
• Detailed description of the work site, including a signed and dated site map, survey plan or sketch indicating location of existing buildings, property lines, proposed works, and the high water level.
• A copy of your plans and a description of construction methods, timing and materials. Also describe any alternative designs considered.
• Photographs of the work site and the surrounding shoreline.
• A description of existing aquatic habitat and names of fish species at or near the site.
• A list of agencies contacted.

For larger or more complicated projects, you may be asked to provide an evaluation of potential impacts on fish and fish habitat and how you intend to reduce or compensate for any harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.

It's a good idea to talk to local contractors, building suppliers, and regulators to be certain all aspects of your project are planned properly.

A site visit by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or by provincial environmental staff may be necessary to assess your application. If Fisheries and Oceans Canada approves your project, you must still make certain you obtain any necessary permits or approvals that may be required by the province and/or municipality. Provincial approval may also require public notification and input on the proposed project.




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What Can You Do to Protect Fish Habitat?

The combined effect of many small harmful alterations can degrade or destroy large areas of habitat and cause declines in fish populations. Here are some suggestions for protecting and maintaining fish habitat:

Maintain/Plant Trees and Shrubs on Shorelines

Vegetation helps stabilize banks and keeps sediment from washing into the water where it can suffocate fish eggs. The trees and shrubs also harbour insect life for fish food, shade water keeping temperatures cool, and filter contaminants that can poison fish.

Keep Contaminants Out of the Water

Keep water that runs off your land or work area free of fertilizers, herbicides, petroleum products, etc. that pollute the water. Dispose of wastes properly. Never use a storm drain for disposing of used motor oils, solvents or any chemical wastes. Storm drains funnel flows directly into rivers. Ensure your sewage is not seeping into any waterbody.

Leave a Buffer Zone

Allow an adequate strip of land along streams and rivers to grow wild to act as a buffer zone to protect the watercourse from land use activities.

Ensure Fish Passage

Don't block or restrict fish movement in streams and rivers. Make sure culverts and other in-stream structures are properly installed and maintained to allow for the safe passage of fish.

Leave Fallen Trees and Branches In The Water

Woody debris is important to lake and river ecosystems. Beneath the water it provides a home to tiny aquatic organisms that feed fish and a place for fish to hide from predators; above water, it provides a sunny platform for ducks and turtles.

Talk To Us

If you see activities that affect fish habitat, or would like information on protecting habitat, talk to your local Fisheries and Oceans Canada or provincial biologist.

We're Here to Help

Help maintain the quality of fish habitat in our lakes and streams. Please contact agency staff before beginning any work in or around water.

For further information, or to obtain copies of other fact sheets in this series, contact:

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Calgary District
7646-8 Street NE
Calgary, AB T2E 8X4
Tel: (403) 292-5160
Fax: (403) 292-5173

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Lethbridge District
204, 704-4th Avenue
Lethbridge, AB T1J 0N8
Tel: (403) 394-2920
Fax: (403) 394-2917

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Edmonton District
4253-97 Street
Edmonton, AB T6E 5Y7
Tel: (780) 495-4220
Fax: (780) 495-8606

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Peace River District
9001-94 Street
Peace River, AB T8S 1G9
Tel: (780) 618-3220
Fax: (780) 618-3235

Federal and provincial offices are listed in the phone book under Government of Canada and Government of Alberta.
www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans-habitat

This fact sheet and others in the Working Around Water? series below can help you plan your project with fish habitat in mind:

• What you should know about fish habitat and docks, boathouses and boat launches
• What you should know about fish habitat and building materials
• What you should know about fish habitat and building a beach
• What you should know about fish habitat and shoreline stabilization
• What you should know about fish habitat and the effects of sediment

Cette publication est également disponible en français. September 2003