Species at Risk

The Species at Risk Act (SARA) was established to fulfill Canada's commitment to provide protection and recovery for species at risk in Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has initiated Species at Risk Programs in a number of laboratories across Canada to undertake research required for successful implementation of the Act.

The work of the Species at Risk group is focused in three areas:

1. Species of Concern

The group conducts research on species that have been identified by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), but may or may not be listed under SARA. Currently the species for which we are responsible include:

Several groups of international scientists currently conduct research on these species. With our research, we hope to contribute to the current body of work and to fill the gaps in knowledge of these species.

2. Candidate species

DFO has a wealth of current and historical information pertaining to marine fish species, derived from research surveys, research projects and commercial fisheries. Research and data require screening in order to determine whether any marine species are at risk of extinction. We provide peer-reviewed summaries of the status of species to be evaluated to COSEWIC ("candidate species"), as well as work with the authors of COSEWIC reports to aid in interpretation of DFO information. See Candidate Species for more information...

3. Strategic Issues

In addition to our work on listed and candidate species, which is more species specific, we are also interested in broader species at risk issues.

  • Workshops on species at risk issues
  • Methodological development of population assessments
  • By-catch issues
    • Impact of low abundance species on fisheries, and vice versa
    • Resilience of non-target species to fishing
  • Developing linkages with species experts