Species at risk assessments: order acknowledging receipt (volume 139, number 15, July 27, 2005)

Vol. 139, No. 15 -- July 27, 2005

Registration
SI/2005-71 July 27, 2005

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act

P.C. 2005-1341 July 14, 2005

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, hereby acknowledges receipt of the assessments done pursuant to subsection 23(1) of the Species at Risk Act (see footnote a) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) with respect to the species enumerated in the Annex to this Order.

ANNEX

ENDANGERED SPECIES

MAMMALS

Whale, Northern Bottlenose (Hyperoodon ampullatus) Scotian Shelf population
Baleine à bec commune population du plateau néo-écossais

FISH

Cod, Atlantic (Gadus morhua) Newfoundland and Labrador population
Morue franche population de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador

Salmon, Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Interior Fraser population
Saumon coho population du Fraser intérieur

MOLLUSCS

Snail, Lake Winnipeg Physa (Physa sp.)
Physe du lac Winnipeg

THREATENED SPECIES

FISH

Cod, Atlantic (Gadus morhua) Laurentian North population
Morue franche population nord-laurentienne

Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)
Bocaccio

Darter, Channel (Percina copelandi)
Fouille-roche gris

Cisco, Shortjaw (Coregonus zenithicus)
Cisco à mâchoires égales

Cusk (Brosme brosme)
Brosme

SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN

MAMMALS

Porpoise, Harbour (Phocoena phocoena) Northwest Atlantic population
Marsouin commun population de l'Atlantique Nord-Ouest

FISH

Cod, Atlantic (Gadus morhua) Maritimes population
Morue franche population des Maritimes

Cod, Atlantic (Gadus morhua) Arctic population
Morue franche population de l'Arctique

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

The Order acknowledges receipt by the Governor in Council of 12 aquatic species done pursuant to subsection 23(1) of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The purpose of SARA is to prevent wildlife species from being extirpated or becoming extinct, to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity and to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened.

SARA provides for assessments of the status of indigenous Canadian wildlife species by establishing COSEWIC as an independent scientific body. COSEWIC meets once or twice annually to review information collected on species and assigns each species to one of seven categories -- Extinct, Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, Special Concern, Data Deficient or Not at Risk. Under subsection 27(1.1) of SARA, the Governor in Council, within nine months after receiving an assessment of the status of a species by COSEWIC, may review that assessment and may, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, accept the assessment and add the species to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 to SARA, decide not to add the species to that List or refer the matter back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration. Before making a recommendation in respect of aquatic species, the Minister of the Environment must consult with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

The Order of the Governor in Council acknowledging receipt of COSEWIC's assessment on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment is the first step in this process. The 12 aquatic species that are the subject of this Order are species that the Minister of the Environment is considering for the purpose of their possible listing in Schedule 1 of SARA by the Governor in Council (GIC). These species were assessed as being endangered, threatened or of special concern at COSEWIC's May 2002, November 2002 and May 2003 meetings.

The Minister of the Environment will take into account the assessments of these species and will consult with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as competent Minister for aquatic species, as well as provincial and territorial governments, Aboriginal peoples, Wildlife Management Boards, stakeholders, and the Canadian public. Consultation documents have been prepared and circulated to stakeholder groups as well as posted on the Public Registry of the Species at Risk website (www.sararegistry.gc.ca). Once the consultation process is complete, the Minister of Environment will make recommendations to the Governor in Council for the purpose of decisions made under subsection 27(1.1) of SARA.

Footnote a

S.C. 2002, c. 29

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