CONSOLIDATION

List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order

SI/2021-33

Current to June 20, 2022



OFFICIAL STATUS OF CONSOLIDATIONS Subsections 31(1) and (3) of the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, in force on June 1, 2009, provide as follows: Published consolidation is evidence

31 (1) Every copy of a consolidated statute or consolidated regulation published by the Minister under this Act in either print or electronic form is evidence of that statute or regulation and of its contents and every copy purporting to be published by the Minister is deemed to be so published, unless the contrary is shown. ... Inconsistencies in regulations

(3) In the event of an inconsistency between a consolidated regulation published by the Minister under this Act and the original regulation or a subsequent amendment as registered by the Clerk of the Privy Council under the Statutory Instruments Act, the original regulation or amendment prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

LAYOUT The notes that appeared in the left or right margins are now in boldface text directly above the provisions to which they relate. They form no part of the enactment, but are inserted for convenience of reference only.

NOTE This consolidation is current to June 20, 2022. Any amendments that were not in force as of June 20, 2022 are set out at the end of this document under the heading “Amendments Not in Force”.

Current to June 20, 2022

TABLE OF PROVISIONS List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order

ANNEX

Statement Setting Out the Reasons for Referring the Assessment of the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) St. Lawrence River Population Back to COSEWIC

Current to June 20, 2022

ii

Registration SI/2021-33 July 7, 2021

SPECIES AT RISK ACT List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order P.C. 2021-597

June 17, 2021

His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to subsections 27(1.1) and (1.2) of the Species at Risk Acta, (a) refers the assessment of the status of the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) St. Lawrence River population back to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) for further information or consideration; and (b) approves that the Minister of the Environment include in the public registry established under section 120 of that Act the statement that is attached as the annex to this Order and that sets out the reasons for the referral back to COSEWIC.

a

S.C. 2002, c. 29

Current to June 20, 2022

List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order ANNEX Statement Setting Out the Reasons for Referring the Assessment of the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) St. Lawrence River Population Back to COSEWIC

ANNEX

Statement Setting Out the Reasons for Referring the Assessment of the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) St. Lawrence River Population Back to COSEWIC The Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River (SLR) population) is listed as endangered in Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The last sighting of an individual of the historical Striped Bass (SLR population) was in 1968. In 2002, Quebec began restocking efforts using fish from a separate population in the Miramichi River. In 2004, COSEWIC assessed the Striped Bass (SLR population) and classified it as extirpated. In 2011, the Striped Bass (SLR population) was added to Schedule 1 to SARA as extirpated. In 2012, COSEWIC reassessed the species and reclassified it as endangered, taking into account stocked fish originating from the Miramichi River. In August 2019, the classification of Striped Bass (SLR population) in Schedule 1 to SARA was changed from extirpated to endangered. At the COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting in November 2019, in an addendum to its 2012 assessment, COSEWIC once again reassessed this population. It came to the conclusion that, based on current COSEWIC guidelines the individuals currently found in the St. Lawrence River are not part of the original SLR population and, therefore, that the 2012 status report erroneously included the individuals from the stocked population. For those reasons, COSEWIC reclassified the Striped Bass (SLR population) as extinct.

The addendum to COSEWIC’s 2012 assessment restricts the information being provided by COSEWIC to information in regards to only the historic population of Striped Bass in the St. Lawrence River and negates conclusions made in 2012 pertaining to the risk status of the introduced fish currently inhabiting the St. Lawrence River or how they may fit into the future population (or “designatable unit”) structure of all Canadian Striped Bass. Because the Governor in Council’s 2011 listing and subsequent August 2019 reclassification decisions pertained to the entirety of the Striped Bass individuals in the St. Lawrence River and the provisions of SARA apply to those individuals, the Minister of the Environment, on

Current to June 20, 2022

List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order ANNEX Statement Setting Out the Reasons for Referring the Assessment of the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) St. Lawrence River Population Back to COSEWIC

the advice of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, has determined that more information is needed on the status of the existing Striped Bass in the St. Lawrence River before a recommendation with respect to the Striped Bass (SLR population) can be made. Therefore, the matter is referred back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is committed to working with COSEWIC on this matter.

Current to June 20, 2022

