Management Plan for the Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), Newfoundland Population, in Canada

Banded Killifish (Newfoundland Population)

May 2011

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Responsible Jurisdictions
• Authors
• Acknowledgments
• Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Executive Summary
• 1. Species Information
  • 1.1.  Species Assessment Information from COSEWIC
  • 1.2.  Description
  • 1.3.  Populations and Distribution
  • 1.4.  Needs of the Banded Killifish, Newfoundland population
    • 1.4.1.  Habitat and biological needs
    • 1.4.2.  Ecological role
    • 1.4.3.  Limiting factors
  • 1.5.  Threats
    • 1.5.1.  Threat classification
    • 1.5.2.  Description of threats
  • 1.6.  Actions Already Completed or Underway
  • 1.7.  Knowledge Gaps
• 2. Management
  • 2.1.  Goal
  • 2.2.  Objectives
  • 2.3.  Actions
    • 2.3.1.  Protection
    • 2.3.2.  Management
    • 2.3.3.  Research
    • 2.3.4.  Monitoring and assessment
    • 2.3.5.  Outreach and communication
• 3. Proposed Implementation Schedule
• 4. Associated Plans
• 5. References
• 6. Contacts
• APPENDIX 1: Terminology used in Threat Classification Table
• APPENDIX 2: Record of Cooperation and Consultation
• APPENDIX 3: Figure
• APPENDIX 4: Operational Statements

About the Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series

What is the Species at Risk Act (SARA)?

SARA is the act developed by the federal government as a key contribution to the common national effort to protect and conserve species at risk in Canada. SARA came into force in 2003, and one of its purposes is "to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened."

What is a species of special concern?

Under SARA, a species of special concern is a wildlife species that could become threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Species of special concern are included in the SARA List of Wildlife Species at Risk.

What is a management plan?

Under SARA, a management plan is an action-oriented planning document that identifies the conservation activities and land use measures needed to ensure, at a minimum, that a species of special concern does not become threatened or endangered.  For many species, the ultimate aim of the management plan will be to alleviate human threats and remove the species from the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. The plan sets goals and objectives, identifies threats, and indicates the main areas of activities to be undertaken to address those threats.

Management plan development is mandated under Sections 65-72 of SARA (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/approach/act/default_e.cfm).

A management plan has to be developed within three years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. Five years is allowed for those species that were initially listed when SARA came into force.

What's next?

Directions set in the management plan will enable jurisdictions, communities, land users, and conservationists to implement conservation activities that will have preventive or restorative benefits. Cost-effective measures to prevent the species from becoming further at risk should not be postponed for lack of full scientific certainty and may, in fact, result in significant cost savings in the future.

The series

This series presents the management plans prepared or adopted by the federal government under SARA. New documents will be added regularly as species get listed and as plans are updated.

To learn more

To learn more about the Species at Risk Act and conservation initiatives, please consult the SARA Public Registry (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/).

Management Plan for the Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), Newfoundland Population, in Canada [Final]

2011 - 2016

May 2011

Recommended citation:

Additional copies:

Additional copies can be downloaded from the SARA Public Registry (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm).

Cover illustration: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Également disponible en français sous le titre
«Plan de gestion du fondule barré (Fundulus diaphanus), population de Terre Neuve, au Canada [Proposition].»

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2011. All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-1-100-17429-7
Catalogue no. En3-5/12-2011E-PDF

Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

Preface

The Banded Killifish, Newfoundland population, is a freshwater fish and is under the responsibility of the federal government.  The Species at Risk Act (SARA, Section 65) requires the competent minister to prepare management plans for species listed as special concern.  The Banded Killifish, Newfoundland population, was listed as a species of special concern under SARA in 2005.  The development of this management plan was led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador Region, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation, in cooperation and consultation with many individuals, organizations and government agencies, as indicated below and in Appendix 2.  The plan meets SARA requirements in terms of content and process (SARA sections 65-68).

Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this plan and will not be achieved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or any other party alone. This plan provides advice to jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved or wish to become involved in activities to conserve this species.  In the spirit of the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans invites all responsible jurisdictions and Canadians to join Fisheries and Oceans Canada in supporting and implementing this plan for the benefit of the Banded Killifish, Newfoundland population, and Canadian society as a whole.  The Minister will monitor the implementation of this management plan and assess its implementation five years after the plan is included in the Species at Risk Public Registry, and in every subsequent five-year period until its objectives have been achieved.

Responsible Jurisdictions

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Department of Environment and Conservation

Authors

This document was prepared by Derek R. Osborne on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Joe Brazil on behalf of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation.  Revisions and updates were provided by Dawn N. Mercer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Acknowledgments

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation are grateful to those who have reviewed drafts of this document and have provided comments.  This includes those from various DFO sectors, including Science, Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, Oceans, Habitat and Species at Risk and Communications.  From the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, reviewers included the Departments of Environment and Conservation, and Natural Resources.  Other reviewers included Parks Canada, the Federation of Newfoundland Indians (FNI) and the Miawpukek First Nation (MFN).

The authors would also like to thank M. van Zyll de Jong and J. Chippett who had developed an earlier draft version of a Banded Killifish management plan for Newfoundland.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is conducted on all SARA recovery planning documents, in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals. The purpose of a SEA is to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies, plans, and program proposals to support environmentally-sound decision making.

Recovery planning is intended to benefit species at risk and biodiversity in general. However, it is recognized that plans may also inadvertently lead to environmental effects beyond the intended benefits. The planning process based on national guidelines directly incorporates consideration of all environmental effects, with a particular focus on possible impacts on non-target species or habitats. The results of the SEA are incorporated directly into the plan itself, but are also summarized below.

This management plan will clearly benefit the environment by promoting the conservation of the Newfoundland population of Banded Killifish. The potential for the plan to inadvertently lead to adverse effects on other species was considered. The SEA concluded that this plan will clearly benefit the environment and will not entail any significant adverse effects. The reader should refer to the following sections of the document in particular: description of the species' habitat and biological needs, ecological role, and limiting factors; management and implementation schedule.

Executive Summary

The Newfoundland population of Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) has been listed as a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and as a vulnerable species under the Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act (NL ESA). While there is no evidence to suggest that this species' range or population numbers have decreased on the Island of Newfoundland, the Banded Killifish's limited area of occupancy, and clustered distribution pattern makes the species particularly sensitive to catastrophic events or localized perturbations. 

In 2003, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) identified potential impacts from forestry activities in the Indian Bay watershed and barriers to migration as the primary threats and limiting factors for this species in Newfoundland.  Since that assessment, post-forest harvest data suggest the abundance and distribution of Banded Killifish have increased in Indian Bay.  Established buffer zones help minimize the risks to Banded Killifish associated with forest harvesting. Additional potential threats and limiting factors include introduction of invasive predators, and land use activities such as road development, mineral exploration and urban/cabin development.  COSEWIC also identified issues, such as water temperature and availability of suitable habitat, but indicated that these are not likely limiting factors to Banded Killifish throughout most of the region.

The goal of this management plan is to maintain existing Banded Killifish population levels and distribution, and protect habitat within watersheds in which the species is found.  This will be accomplished through surveys and monitoring on an opportunistic basis, development of site specific best management practices to protect habitat, reduction of by-catch mortality in the American eel fishery and increased public awareness and stewardship.  Conservation and management measures for Banded Killifish in Newfoundland will be delivered through the cooperative efforts of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and their associates. 

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