Striped Bass — St. Lawrence Population Assessment

Summary#

This Order formally records that the federal government received an assessment from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) saying the Striped Bass, St. Lawrence River population is extinct. The Order was registered in the Canada Gazette on July 7, 2021 (P.C. dated June 17, 2021) and starts a decision process about whether to keep or remove the population from the federal list of at-risk species.

What it does#

• Acknowledges receipt of COSEWIC’s assessment made under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) that the St. Lawrence River population of Striped Bass is extinct (COSEWIC’s reassessment was completed in November 2019).
• Notes that this population is already on Schedule 1 (the federal List) under SARA.
• Lists the practical options available to the government decision-maker (the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council), on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment:
  • accept COSEWIC’s assessment and remove the population from the List;
  • decide not to remove the population from the List; or
  • send the assessment back to COSEWIC for more information or reconsideration.

Who's affected#

• The most direct federal actors are Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Minister of the Environment, who handle the follow-up steps under SARA.
• People and groups likely to notice or care include recreational fishers, local communities and stewardship groups along the St. Lawrence River, and conservation organizations that track species status.
• If it is unclear who will be affected by a particular follow-up decision (for example, changes to recovery planning or legal listing), this Order does not itself make that decision.

Why it matters#

• This is a formal, administrative step that can lead to a change in federal listings and how the government treats the population in law and recovery planning.
• COSEWIC concluded the original St. Lawrence River Striped Bass population disappeared due to overfishing and habitat degradation; the last known original fish was caught in 1968. That history is part of the record considered before any change is made.
• Depending on what the government decides next, the outcome could affect conservation priorities, monitoring, and how the loss is recorded in official species lists.