HABITAT

SEHAB Roundtable Summaries February 2006
Degradation or Loss, Instream and Riparian
• Habitat degradation and destruction and the lack of response from senior governments and the lack of ability by stewards to stop or change this
• Dyking, damming and impounding watercourses, encroachment, linear development from roads, pipelines, railroads and urbanization
• Channelization and confinement of watercourses, flood prevention, flood plain development
• Province of BC withdrawal of services- rescinding the SPRs and replacing with RARs
• Private landowners removing, altering and destroying habitat with little or no consequences or incentives to do it differently
• Resources use/extraction impacts to habitat- mining, aquaculture agriculture
Habitat Degradation, Water Quality
• Stormwater- changing flow regimes from hardening of the watershed - increasing impervious
surfaces
• Non-point pollution and untreated rainwater and other deleterious substances entering watercourses
• Groundwater contamination
• Mining, sewage and other industrial effulgent entering watercourses and receiving waters
Habitat Degradation, Water Quantity
• Over extraction of water by water licensees
• Changing hydrographs
Enforcement Habitat
• Lack of enforcement and protection, specifically habitat- considered low risk activities or low
risk streams or low risk to the department
• Policy of not prosecuting leading down the slippery slope of total disregard and disrespect for the department
• Lack of understanding by DFO of how upset the volunteers continue to be about this
STOCKS
Monitoring and Assessment
• Stock Assessment, reduced assessment cannot inform fisheries managers’ decisions, loss of Assessment Credibly

• Lack of response to extremely low coho Fraser returns fall 2005
• Numbers needed to inform enhancement programs
• Reduced marking programs used to protect or create fisheries and monitor stocks
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SEHAB Roundtable Summaries February 2006
Enforcement Fish
• Controversy about closures on Rivers and openings in Gulf and inside waters
POLICY
Fisheries and Oceans Canada Policy
• Changing regulatory environment regarding habitat and fish.  Federal, Provincial and Municipal
• Federal regulations are being operationilized within new frameworks and with limited resources
• SMART, EPMP, DAPP, Harmonization and so on
• EPMP
• Compensation Projects lack of compliance
• Post Conviction Fines designation
• Individual Transferable Quotas for West Coast Fisheries - the further privatization of the People of Canada's resource
• Fisheries act renewal - What does it mean
• Staffing Policy, too many people in acting positions, hampers DFO workers and the community in their ability to gain local knowledge, build up corporate knowledge of their role
and how to carry out their responsibilities 
Consultation, Timely and Meaningful, In good Faith
• A lot of consultation going on for federal legislation and processes but no clear way to know when or how to be invited to participate
• Communication with Fisheries and Oceans and the public and even between their departments is extremely poor.
STEWARDSHIP
Community Capacity, Informed Community
• Education Environmental ongoing and thriving: All Candidates meeting before the Municipal and Federal elections. 
• Successful field trip curriculum for the elementary schools working with local university
• The environmental library (books given out to the schools)
• Education of municipal staff and developers
• Volunteer Recruitment, volunteers are aging and we need not  only new recruits but young recruits. 
KUDOS
Bev Bowler, Education Coordinator Lower Fraser
Dave Davies, CA Vancouver Island
Sandy Lochbaum, Enforcement Officer
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