Fisheries Committee on March 4th, 2008

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Chief.

We have about five minutes left. If you want to make some closing comments, this is your opportunity to do so.

[Chief Roderick Pachano]

First of all, I'd like to thank the committee for its patience. I believe we have a hard time explaining what the issue is, especially in layman's terms, to people who may not know or may not have the wherewithal as well, as is naturally expected.

For the people, I think it's very important to us. What we're basically talking about is restoration of the eelgrass to its natural environment, or close to its natural environment or the way it was before. Restoring the area would bring back the migratory birds and also restore the ecosystem, as well as bringing back all the animals and the fish and the marine wildlife that were there.

We would like to have the governments honour their commitments. One of the commitments that were made in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was that, subject to the principle of conservation, the Cree were guaranteed certain levels of harvest prior to the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. We consider that agreement as our treaty with the governments, and those are protected by section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.

We would like to see the government and all the parties to that agreement honour that commitment. Maybe we can share some more geese with you once we have reached our guaranteed levels again.

I'd like to thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you again for your presentation. It was very interesting. I'm sure the members of the committee have gained some knowledge of the concerns that you have raised, and we'll go forward from here.

We are about to hear from officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Department of Environment on this particular issue, but we're going to take a five-minute recess now to clear the table and allow the next presenters to get ready.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

We'll reconvene the meeting now.

I certainly want to welcome our presenters for our second hour.

Once again, I would ask that you take the time to introduce yourselves. My understanding is that Mr. Elliot will be giving some opening remarks, but before we do that, would you introduce yourselves in your capacity here, please.

[Richard Elliot, Director of Wildlife Research, Science and Technology, Department of the Environment]

I am Richard Elliot, the director of wildlife research from the science and technology branch of Environment Canada.

[Dr. Austin Reed, Scientist emeritus, Department of the Environment]

My name is Austin Reed. I'm a retired research scientist from the Canadian Wildlife Service, based in Quebec City.

[Madam Lizon Provencher, Biologist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Good morning. My name is Lizon Provencher. I am a biologist at the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, in Mont-Joli.

[Patrice Leblanc, Director, Habitat Protection and Sustainable Development, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Good morning. I am Patrice Leblanc, Director, Habitat Protection and Sustainable Development, here in Ottawa.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you once again for your presence here. Welcome.

As I said before, I understand Mr. Elliot will have some opening remarks.

The floor is yours, sir.

[Richard Elliot]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First of all, I'd like to emphasize that Dr. Reed is here with me today. Dr. Reed is a scientist emeritus with Environment Canada, and he is an expert on goose populations in northern Quebec and elsewhere in North America and their relationship with eelgrass.

Dr. Reed has provided much of the information on the technical side of things that are involved in my introduction, and he's going to be able to respond to technical questions relating to waterfowl and their linkages with eelgrass.

I'll be summarizing Environment Canada's information on eelgrass in eastern James Bay and its importance as a food supply for waterfowl. Much of this is a repeat of what you heard from the Cree presenters earlier on.

Eelgrass is an aquatic plant that occurs in large beds in shallow, relatively warm, sheltered coastal waters of James Bay, particularly in the areas of fine sediments, low tidal range, and moderate to high salinity. These eelgrass beds, as you've already heard, are very important in the coastal ecosystems of the bay. They provide shelter for the many small fish and invertebrates, food for many animals, and from our point of view they're important as food sources for ducks, Canada geese, and in particular brant geese.

Steve Curtis, who is a biologist with Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, was one of the first to survey the very productive eelgrass beds along the coast of James Bay in the early 1970s. The importance was identified before hydroelectric development took place on the rivers that flow into the bay. Later on, Hydro-Québec took responsibility for conducting quantitative surveys of eelgrass abundance in James Bay, and they used six permanent stations that were mostly close to the mouth of the La Grande River. This monitoring was undertaken initially in 1988 and was repeated most years until 1995. So it was the period after the first dams were put in place on the La Grande. These surveys identified that these coastal eelgrass beds were among the most productive in North America.

The monitoring undertaken by Hydro-Québec was repeated in 1999 and 2000. During this period they detected a severe decline in the amount of eelgrass present. Since then, a largely qualitative survey, as opposed to the earlier quantitative ones, was undertaken in 2004, and this indicated that eelgrass was still at low levels.

The causes of decline in eelgrass, from our point of view, in James Bay are not clearly understood. In addition to being vulnerable to changes in water levels, water temperatures, and salinity, as well as to the effects of human disturbance on sediments, eelgrass is susceptible to this wasting disease that Chief Pachano referred to earlier, caused by the slime mould labyrinthula. It's well known that outbreaks of this disease have caused eelgrass to decline significantly in other areas. Particularly, up to 90% of eelgrass was lost to this disease on the Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe during the 1930s. However, to our knowledge, no link has been confirmed between this wasting disease and declines of eelgrass in the James Bay area.

Environment Canada has collaborated in publishing the characteristics of the eelgrass meadows and habitat use by waterfowl in 1990 and 1991, and Dr. Reed was one of the authors of these reports.

We're not aware of more recent quantitative information as a result of studies on eelgrass meadows, but there may have been some that we haven't been aware of, particularly in areas farther south than those being described by the Cree representatives in the earlier sessions.

I want to emphasize that our interest as Environment Canada focuses particularly on waterfowl use. James Bay is recognized as one of the most important stopover areas in North America for migrating geese and ducks. They pause here for several weeks in their spring migration from southerly wintering areas to their breeding grounds in the far north and again on their southbound fall migrations. While they're in James Bay, water fowl feed intensively in these rich coastal habitats to replenish energy reserves that allow them to continue their flights to the next stage of their annual cycle.

Eelgrass beds provide important food for several species of waterfowl, most particularly for Atlantic brant geese. Atlantic brant are small geese that are very closely associated with marine waters. They breed in low-lying coastal areas on the islands in Fox Basin, which is in Canada's central Arctic, and they overwinter in coastal New England, mostly from Massachusetts to North Carolina. They migrate through Canada, stopping at staging areas on the Quebec and Ontario coasts of James Bay, both in the spring and the fall, for up to a month at a time. Throughout their migration and their overwintering periods, Atlantic brant rely very heavily on eelgrass for food, although they do eat a range of other salt marsh grasses and sedges while they're on their Arctic breeding grounds.

Research undertaken by Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service in collaboration with Hydro-Québec and members of the Cree community, mostly in the early 1990s, documented that almost all feeding by brant in the James Bay area occurred in eelgrass beds, and that almost all the food they consumed was leaves of eelgrass. Canada geese and black ducks—which you've heard mentioned already—also fed on eelgrass beds to some extent, but they weren't confined to those areas. And several sea duck species also fed on numerous small organisms harboured by the eelgrass ecosystem. Again, these observations have been published in reports that are available and have been co-authored by Dr. Reed.

There haven't been sufficient recent surveys to assess whether the number of waterfowl moving through James Bay has declined overall. Nevertheless, there is good information that large numbers of waterfowl species still do occur in the bay while migrating; and recent studies by Environment Canada and its U.S. partners indicate that the entire population of Atlantic brant moves through James Bay—although it seems that a higher proportion of migrating brant may now actually be staging, or spending their time in migration, on the western side of James Bay, in Ontario, as opposed to the eastern coast of James Bay, which would have been the area of concern discussed by the Cree representatives in the earlier session.

In closing, I want to refer to Environment Canada's role in understanding the situation. Through the Migratory Birds Convention Act, Environment Canada has the responsibility for the conservation of migratory birds, including waterfowl. In most of its research and monitoring activities, Environment Canada takes a partnership role with other organizations; we rarely do things on our own. We understand the importance of working in partnership. That involves the collection, interpretation, and the response to the ecological information. Environment Canada has followed this approach with respect to understanding the relationships between waterfowl and eelgrass and larger changes within the James Bay coastal ecosystem.

Although we have responsibility for the conservation of migratory birds, including waterfowl, the protection of most wildlife habitats falls under provincial jurisdiction. Our friends from DFO, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, will be describing their role as a follow-up to my presentation. What this emphasizes to our department is the need for cooperative approaches to research, monitoring, and management of all components of the coastal systems of the bay.

In closing, I'd like to acknowledge the partnerships that my department, Environment Canada, has relied on with the Cree community, Hydro-Québec, the Government of Quebec, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and several private consulting organizations, who together have been instrumental in understanding the ecosystem of James Bay, and eelgrass and waterfowl in particular.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Elliot.

Do we have a presentation from Mr. Leblanc?

[Patrice Leblanc]

Good morning.

The eelgrass problem is a complex one and involves a number of groups, including Environment Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the community, industry and the province. The Province of Quebec has a responsibility in this issue. Currently, there is very little scientific information on the eelgrass in the region, in terms of the fisheries and the impact on fish and fish habitat.

DFO does not have a research program on the eelgrass in James Bay. We are assessing various options to better understand the problem, including a study on the body of knowledge on eelgrass and Hydro-Quebec's monitoring program.

With me today is Lizon Provencher. She represents the science sector and can answer the more scientific questions. I represent the Fish Habitat Management Program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We administer the provisions of the Fisheries Act that cover the impact of human activity on fish and their habitat.

We also administer and apply the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act prior to decisions being made regarding the Fisheries Act. We also participated in the Federal Review Panel for the Eastmain-1-A and Rupert Diversion Project. I think you all have copies of the response that we provided to the recommendations of the panel on Eastmain-1-A and the Rupert Diversion Project. That was done by our department.

Regional representatives could not attend this meeting, but if you have questions I cannot answer, I will make sure to obtain the information.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Leblanc, and thank you, Mr. Elliott.

Mr. Matthews.

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Chairman, I want to welcome our witnesses and thank them for coming.

Mr. Elliot, I've listened to your presentation, and of course Chief Pachano and his group's presentation, and I think a big concern in the chief's presentation was that Hydro-Québec was resisting providing the year-by-year monthly flows to enable them to investigate the matter further. Would Environment Canada have access to or be provided with the flows from Hydro-Québec, or have you found, as the chief has, that they're not really forthcoming on that issue? To me, it seems that is critical to identifying if indeed it is a contributor to the problem.

[Richard Elliot]

I understand your question.

My area of work within Environment Canada relates primarily to waterfowl and migratory bird conservation, so I'm not aware of whether other parts of my department might have been involved in trying to secure that information. I'm sorry, I really can't add to it right now, but we could track that down.

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

I probably should have asked the chief, because I'd like to know why Hydro-Québec is so resistant to providing the water flow information regularly. We know somewhat about the wasting disease, and the chief, by process of elimination, went through it pretty well for us. It just seems that someone should be able to access that flow information from Hydro-Québec. As an innocent bystander and a member of this committee, I don't doubt what I've been told. It would seem to me there's some reason they don't want to provide the flow information.

To you, Mr. Leblanc, from Fisheries and Oceans, you talked about your concern with fish habitat and protection of fish. Would DFO have any information from Hydro-Québec or be concerned about not getting regular flow reports from Hydro-Québec?

[Patrice Leblanc]

I'm not aware of any information that's provided from Hydro-Québec. Unfortunately, the representative from our Quebec region was unable to attend; he had two other commitments. I will find out whether we are receiving--I would assume we are--the flow regime or the flow discharges from the hydro development, given the fact that a section of the act enables us to assign minimum flow for fish.

I will check and get back to the committee on what we have obtained and if there are any conditions in terms of releasing that information.

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

I appreciate that.

Mr. Elliot, would you please give the committee the same undertaking from your department as Mr. Leblanc has given from DFO? If there's any information around or if there's been any problem from an Environment Canada point of view, would you be so kind as to advise the committee as well?

[Richard Elliot]

Yes, I will certainly look into that. What we might find is that Mr. Leblanc would report on behalf of both departments.

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Well, whatever, that would be quite satisfactory.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Mr. Simms is next.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Just to add to that, who facilitates the relationship between Hydro-Québec and the Cree in this particular area? Are you directly involved in their consultations, in the process they go through to deal with each other?

[Patrice Leblanc]

With respect to the environmental assessment, the Eastmain-1-A environmental assessment, we would have been required to ensure that there was aboriginal consultation prior to our regulatory decisions under the Fisheries Act. But I gather you wanted a broader sort of answer, in terms of whether we are a go-between for Hydro-Québec and the aboriginals. I'll have to get back to you on that. I apologize, but I don't have a direct answer right now.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

No, that's okay. I thought you may know offhand.

Let me go to the issue of wasting disease.

Mr. Elliot, did you say that 90% of the eelgrass was lost? And was that in the 1930s? Did I get that right?

[Richard Elliot]

Yes, this was a major decline in eelgrass on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the 1930s, and it was directly attributable to wasting disease.

I think the Cree representatives mentioned earlier that wasting disease is always there at very low levels, but under certain circumstances it seems to take hold and have a severe impact on eelgrass populations.