Canada's Marine Species at Risk: Science and Law at the Helm, but a Sea of Uncertainties

Abstract

This article examines, through a three part format, Canada's legislative “lifeboat” for saving species from extinction, the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and how it has fared in its first two years of implementation with a focus on efforts to protect marine fish species. Part I explores how SARA has notionally placed science and law at the helm in the quest to protect endangered and threatened species. COSEWIC, a committee with scientific expertise, has been established to assess the status of wildlife species. SARA provides nine major legal levers for protecting listed species, including general prohibitions against harming species or damaging their residences. Part II highlights the sea of uncertainties being faced in implementation practice. Uncertainties include: contested listing criteria; politically dependent listing decisions; hazy general prohibitions; leeway for incidental harm permitting; recovery strategy and action plan fogginess; critical habitat issues; unsettled relationships with other federal laws; and methodological tensions in how risks should be managed. Part III seeks to chart a course for future legislative and institutional reforms. Besides amendments to SARA, the paper advocates the urgent need to move from “deathbed treatment” to proactive encouragement of biodiversity health through such initiatives as fully implementing Canada's Oceans Act, establishing a network of marine protected areas, and modernizing Canada's antiquated Fisheries Act.