Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida): recovery strategy [Archived]

Official title: Recovery Strategy for the Eastern Sand Darter Recovery Strategy for the Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) in Canada [Archived]

[Proposed]

September 2007

Eastern Sand Darter

Eastern Sand Darter

About the Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series

What is the Species at Risk Act (SARA)?

 SARA is the Act developed by the federal government as a key contribution to the common national effort to protect and conserve species at risk in Canada. SARA came into force in 2003 and one of its purposes is“to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity.”

What is recovery?

In the context of species at risk conservation,recoveryis the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed and threats are removed or reduced to improve the likelihood of the species’ persistence in the wild. A species will be considered recoveredwhen its long-term persistence in the wild has been secured.

What is a recovery strategy?

A recovery strategy is a planning document that identifies what needs to be done to arrest or reverse the decline of a species. It sets goals and objectives and identifies the main areas of activities to be undertaken. Detailed planning is done at the action plan stage.

Recovery strategy development is a commitment of all provinces and territories and of three federal agencies -- Environment Canada, Parks Canada Agency, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada -- under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk.  Sections 37–46 of SARA outline both the required content and the process for developing recovery strategies published in this series.

Depending on the status of the species and when it was assessed, a recovery strategy has to be developed within one to two years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk.  Three to four years is allowed for those species that were automatically listed when SARA came into force.

What’s next?

In most cases, one or more action plans will be developed to define and guide implementation of the recovery strategy. Nevertheless, directions set in the recovery strategy are sufficient to begin involving communities, land users, and conservationists in recovery implementation. Cost-effective measures to prevent the reduction or loss of the species should not be postponed for lack of full scientific certainty.

The series

This series presents the recovery strategies prepared or adopted by the federal government under SARA. New documents will be added regularly as species get listed and as strategies are updated.

To learn more

 To learn more about the Species at Risk Act and recovery initiatives, please consult the SARA Public Registry.

Recommended citation:

Edwards, Amy, Julie Boucher and Becky Cudmore. 2007. Recovery strategy for the eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) in Canada [Proposed]. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa. vii + 50 pp.

 Additional copies:

You can download additional copies from the SARA Public Registry

Cover illustration: Alan Dextrase, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Également disponible en français sous le titre :

« Programme de rétablissement du dard de sable (Ammocrypta pellucida) au Canada [projet] »

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, 2007. All rights reserved.

ISBN    To come

Cat. no.   To come

Content (excluding the cover illustration) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

Declaration

The recovery strategy for the eastern sand darter was developed by members of the Ontario Eastern Sand Darter Recovery Team (OESDRT) and the Quebec Cyprinidae and Small Percidae (CSP) Recovery Team, using provincially based recovery strategies for this species.  It defines recovery goals, approaches and objectives which have been deemed necessary to the species’ recovery.  It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of each of the recovery team’s members, nor the official positions of the organizations with which team members are associated. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has reviewed and accepts this document as its recovery strategy for the eastern sand darter as required by theSpecies at Risk Act. 

Success in the recovery of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this strategy and will not be achieved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or any other jurisdiction alone.  In the spirit of the National Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans invites all Canadians to join Fisheries and Oceans Canada in supporting and implementing this strategy for the benefit of the eastern sand darter and Canadian society as a whole.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada will support implementation of this strategy to the extent possible, given available resources and its overall responsibility for species at risk conservation. Implementation of the strategy by other participating jurisdictions and organizations is subject to their respective policies, appropriations, priorities, and budgetary constraints.

The goals, objectives and recovery approaches identified in the strategy are based on the best existing knowledge and are subject to modifications resulting from new findings and revised objectives. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans will report on progress within five years.

This strategy will be complemented by one or more action plans that will provide details on specific recovery measures to be taken to support conservation of the species.  The Minister will take steps to ensure that, to the extent possible, Canadians interested in or affected by these measures will be consulted.

Responsible Jurisdiction

Under the Species at Risk Act, the responsible jurisdiction for eastern sand darter is Fisheries and Oceans Canada.  Eastern sand darter occurs in Ontario and Quebec, and their respective provincial governments also cooperated in the production of this recovery strategy:

Authors

This document was prepared by a National Recovery Strategy Writing Team comprised of individuals from the Ontario Eastern Sand Darter Recovery Team and the Quebec Cyprinidae and Small Percidae Recovery Team.

National Recovery Strategy Writing Team
Name Functions or Association
Becky Cudmore Research Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Marthe Bérubé Biologiste, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli – Québec Region
Amy Edwards Contract Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Julie Boucher Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec
  Direction du développement de la faune
Henri Fournier Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec
  Direction de l’aménagement de la faune de l’Outaouais
Nick Mandrak Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Bernard Morin Analyste Principal, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Québec – Québec Region

 

Ontario Eastern Sand Darter Recovery Team
Name Functions or Association
Becky Cudmore (Chair) Research Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Scott Reid Species at Risk Biologist, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough ON
Amy Derosier Aquatic Ecologist, Michigan State University Extension, Natural Features Inventory, Lansing MI
Alan Dextrase Senior Species at Risk Biologist, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough ON
Shelly Dunn Fish Habitat Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Doug Facey Professor of Biology, St. Michael's College, Colchester VT
Erling Holm Assistant Curator of Ichthyology, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto ON
Nick Mandrak Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington ON
Kara Vlasman Species at Risk Biologist, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Vineland ON

 

Quebec Cyprinidae and Small Percidae Recovery Team
Nom Functions or Association
Jean-Pierre Laniel (Director) Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec, Direction de l’aménagement de la faune de l’Estrie, de Montréal et de la Montérégie
Julie Boucher (Secretary) Ministère des ressources naturelles et de la faune, secteur Faune Québec, Direction du développement de la faune
Michel Letendre Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec
  Direction de l’aménagement de la faune de l’Estrie, de Montréal etde la Montérégie
Henri Fournier Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec
  Direction de l’aménagement de la faune de l’Outaouais
Chantal Côté Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Secteur Faune Québec
  Direction de l’aménagement de la faune de Lanaudière
Marthe Bérubé Biologiste, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, MontJoli – Québec Region
Bernard Morin Analyste principal, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Québec – Québec Region
Mario Gros-Louis First Nations of Québec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute
Marcel Comiré Comité de concertation et de valorisation du bassin de la rivière Richelieu (COVABAR)
Nathalie Jaume Nature Conservancy – Quebec Office
Geneviève Audet Société de conservation et d'aménagement du bassin de la rivière Châteauguay (SCABRIC)
Charles Bergeron Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) – Lanaudière regional office

Acknowledgements

The following individuals from Québec who provided information: Daniel Banville (MRNF), Steve Garceau (MRNF), Marcel Bernard (MRNF), Martin Arvisais (MRNF), Yves Mailhot (MRNF), Nathalie La Violette (MRNF), Nathalie Vachon (MRNF), Pierre Pettigrew (MRNF), Jocelyne Brisebois (MRNF), Yvon Richard (MDDEP).

Maps were developed by Alan Dextrase (OMNR) and Andrew Doolittle (DFO).

Strategic Environmental Assessment Statement

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, the purpose of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies, plans, and program proposals to support environmentally-sound decision making.

Recovery planning is intended to benefit species at risk and biodiversity in general. However, it is recognized that strategies may also inadvertently lead to environmental effects beyond the intended benefits. The planning process based on national guidelines directly incorporates consideration of all environmental effects, with a particular focus on possible impacts on non-target species or habitats.

This recovery strategy will clearly benefit the environment by promoting the recovery of the eastern sand darter.  The potential for the strategy to inadvertently lead to adverse effects on other species was considered.  The SEA concluded that this strategy will clearly benefit the environment and will not entail any significant adverse effects.  Refer to the following sections of the document in particular: Description of the species’ needs – habitat and biological needs, ecological role and limiting factors; Recovery Feasibility; Approaches Recommended to Meet Recovery Objectives; and, Possible Recovery Effects on Non-targeted Species.

Residence

SARA defines residence as: “a dwelling-place, such as a den, nest or other similar area or place, that is occupied or habitually occupied by one or more individuals during all or part of their life cycles, including breeding, rearing, staging, wintering, feeding or hibernating ” [SARA S2(1)].

Residence descriptions, or the rationale for why the residence concept does not apply to a given species, are posted on the SARA public registry.

Preface

The responsible jurisdiction for the eastern sand darter under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) is Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Section 37 of SARA requires the competent minister to prepare recovery strategies for listed extirpated, endangered and threatened species. The eastern sand darter is a freshwater fish and was listed as threatened under SARA in June 2003. Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Central and Arctic Region led, with the help of DFO-Quebec Region, the development of this recovery strategy. The proposed strategy meets SARA requirements in terms of content and process (Sections 39-41).  It was developed in cooperation or consultation with:

  • Ontario Ministry of Natural Recources
  • Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune du Québec
  • New York Department of Environmental Conservation

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