Carmine Shiner and Lake Utopia Smelt Up‑listed

Summary#

• The Order Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act updates the official list of at‑risk wildlife so that three fish are moved from “threatened” to “endangered.”
• The change was registered on October 6, 2020 and published in the Canada Gazette on October 28, 2020.

What it does#

• Reclassifies these three fish under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) from threatened to endangered:
  • Carmine Shiner (Notropis percobromus)
  • Rainbow Smelt (Lake Utopia large-bodied population)
  • Rainbow Smelt (Lake Utopia small-bodied population)
• Changes the Schedule 1 entries to match the reassessments made by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
• Keeps existing legal protections in place. The general SARA prohibitions against killing, harming, or destroying the residence of listed animals already applied when the species were “threatened” and continue to apply now.
• Requires faster recovery planning for those species now listed as endangered: a recovery strategy must be prepared within 1 year (it is 2 years for threatened species).

Who's affected#

• The fish themselves: the Carmine Shiner (found in the Whitemouth and Winnipeg river systems in eastern Manitoba) and two distinct Rainbow Smelt populations found only in Lake Utopia in southwestern New Brunswick (the large-bodied fish are about 15–25 cm long; the small-bodied about 8–15 cm).
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), which leads recovery planning and will update strategies and action plans.
• Local communities, conservation groups, and people who work on or use those waters (including fishers and researchers). The order’s analysis says no new restrictions beyond existing protections are expected.
• Indigenous groups that have already been involved in recovery work for these species. The government states the reclassification is not expected to directly change activities by Indigenous communities.

Why it matters#

• The reclassification reflects new scientific assessments that these populations face a higher risk of disappearing in Canada. That helps focus attention and resources on recovery.
• In practice, protections that stop people from killing the animals or destroying their habitat stay the same, but recovery planning must move faster for endangered species. That can lead to quicker conservation actions on the ground.
• The change gives clearer, up‑to‑date information to the public, local managers, and partners about these species’ conservation status.