Language selection

Search

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 translocationsFootnote 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 supplementationFootnote 2 or reintroductionFootnote 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

Expected Publications

Expected Participation

References

Notice

Participation to CSAS peer review meetings is by invitation only.

Date modified: