Maintaining SuperNatural BC for Our Children - CoalWatch Comox ...

12. Protecting Fish in British ColumbiaBy Deborah Curran and Megan SeilingThe federal Fisheries Act – first enacted in 1868 – has been one of Canada’sstrongest environmental protection laws. The Act has been effective becauseit’s done more than simply protect individual fish – it was one of the first lawsto recognize larger ecological processes and protect the habitat that speciesdepend upon. However, Ottawa recently weakened Fisheries Act habitatprotection. It is critically important that the province now step in to attemptto fill the regulatory gap – and protect fish habitat.For years, section 35 of the Fisheries Act was important because it prohibitedharmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat (HADD). Wherea proposed activity could create a HADD, habitat officers had to approvethe project before the work commenced, and those approvals often involvedenvironmental assessment and measures to compensate for habitat loss.Although officers had discretion to allow fish habitat to be harmed ordestroyed, the section 35 requirement preserved much habitat – and createdmuch compensatory habitat. This beloved federal law prevented hundreds ofMaintaining SuperNatural BC: Selected Law Reform Proposals 63