List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decision Not to Add Certain Species) Order (American Eel): SI/2025-110

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 26

Registration
SI/2025-110 December 17, 2025

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

P.C. 2025-847 November 28, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, under paragraph 27(1.1)(b) and subsection (1.2) of the Species at Risk Actfootnote a,

List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decision Not to Add Certain Species) Order (American Eel)

ANNEX

Statement Setting Out the Reasons for the Decision Not to Add the American Eel to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

In deciding not to add the American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) as a threatened species to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (“SARA”), the Governor in Council considered a range of factors to make a decision that provides the greatest overall benefit to Canadians. The Governor in Council has determined that managing the American Eel and its habitat using the Fisheries Act would limit socio-economic impacts and offer flexibility to manage activities impacting the species.

Socio-economic considerations

Listing the American Eel as threatened under SARA would trigger the application of the general prohibitions under SARA, making it illegal to kill, harm, harass, capture, take, possess, collect, buy, sell or trade an American Eel or damage the residence of an American Eel.

The application of the SARA prohibitions to the American Eel would lead to the closure of all directed commercial fisheries, including Indigenous communal commercial harvesting and aquaculture operations. The closure of the commercial yellow and silver American Eel fishery and the closure of the commercial elver fishery would result in a combined loss of profit for industry that is estimated to be $12.7 million per year. Specifically, the closure of the commercial yellow and silver American Eel fishery would result in an estimated loss of profit of $1.1 million per year for the more than 100 active commercial and Indigenous communal commercial harvesters of adult eels. In addition, the long-term closure of the commercial elver fishery would result in a loss of profit for the industry that is estimated to be $11.6 million per year for the 11 elver licence holders, including three Indigenous communal commercial licence holders that were active in 2023. The annual loss of profit for aquaculture facilities resulting from the inability to source eels in Canada cannot be estimated at this time due to a lack of data. It is anticipated that listing the American Eel under SARA would have an impact on the sectors that hold, process, package and ship adult eels and elvers. Furthermore, there could be economic impacts on facilities, such as hydroelectricity dams, to comply with SARA.

Management of the American Eel

By continuing to manage the American Eel under the Fisheries Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (“DFO”) can reduce some negative effects on the species and its habitat while sustainably managing the American Eel fisheries. In addition, under that Act, DFO can enhance scientific information about population size and trends that will guide management decisions and improve the safe migration of the American Eel throughout its Canadian range. DFO will continue to implement science and management measures designed to address ongoing threats to the American Eel in Canadian waters. Examples of ongoing measures include improving fish passage at existing facilities, implementing a Precautionary Approach Framework for the commercial yellow and silver American Eel fishery and shortening the recreational fishing seasons. Further, the Possession and Export of Elvers Regulations, which were published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on December 18, 2024, aim to improve the sustainable management of the elver fishery in Atlantic Canada. DFO is also committed to the ongoing implementation of management measures that contribute to the recovery and conservation of the species. This includes initiatives such as supporting habitat rehabilitation and restoration projects in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and partners and funding projects benefiting eel passage during migration. DFO has and will continue to assess the American Eel population in Canada and consider all scientific advice in making management decisions with conservation in mind.

Since the publication of the assessment and status report on the American Eel by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2012, many management measures have been implemented and considerable progress has been made, such as reducing possession limits in recreational fisheries and implementing individual river catch limits. Further, an ongoing initiative has resulted in hundreds of American Eel commercial licences becoming permanently retired through the conversion of eel licences to licences in relation to other species and by buying out licences.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council confirms the decision not to add the American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) as a threatened species to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Background

American Eel has a vast range extending from Greenland to South America, including much of eastern Canada. This species reproduces in salt water but can grow to maturity in either fresh, coastal brackish or nearshore marine waters. Once at maturity, all American Eels migrate up to 5 500 km to the Sargasso Sea located in the southern North Atlantic Ocean to spawn, after which they die. American Eel larvae disperse and develop through several stages as they move toward the continental shelf and into inshore waters to mature from glass eels, to elvers, to yellow eels, and finally to silver eels.

American Eel was assessed as a species of special concern in 2006 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). In 2012, COSEWIC reassessed the species as a threatened species.

The 2012 assessment identified the threats to the American Eel as commercial fisheries on small eels (glass and elver) and large eels (yellow and silver); threats associated with physical obstructions, notably dams, resulting in loss of productive habitat and fragmentation; turbine mortality at hydroelectric facilities; the bioaccumulation of contaminants; and the introduction of the exotic swim bladder nematode parasite. Climate change and shifting oceanographic conditions were also noted as concerns. The assessment found that there has been a substantial decline in American Eel abundance in both the juvenile and adult life stages over a significant portion of its Canadian distribution, with declines having been most severe in the St. Lawrence Basin and Lake Ontario. In eastern portions of the range, juvenile and adult American Eels are still widespread. However, the assessment noted that regional abundance is variable, and population declines in one area can impact the entire population.

Management of the American Eel in Canada varies across its distribution. In Ontario and Quebec, the provincial governments manage American Eel fisheries through their own legislation and through regulations under the Fisheries Act, which assign powers to provincial officials. The federal government manages and protects the habitat of the American Eel. In the Atlantic provinces, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) solely manages the American Eel.

The American Eel is an important food, social and ceremonial (FSC) species in Canada. FSC fisheries are managed, where licensed, under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations and Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) agreements.

Implications

The decision not to add the American Eel to Schedule 1 of SARA as a threatened species means that the prohibitions provided by SARA, the requirement to prepare a recovery strategy and the identification and protection of the critical habitat will not apply; the species will continue to be managed under the Fisheries Act.

All aquatic species and their habitats in Canada benefit from the protections available under the Fisheries Act which, among other things, provides for powers, duties and functions related to the management of fisheries. The Fisheries Act also includes prohibitions against works, undertakings and activities, such as those associated with industrial development, that result in the killing of fish by means other than fishing or that result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.

In making the recommendation not to list the American Eel, the Minister of the Environment has taken into account COSEWIC’s 2012 assessment. However, as outlined in the Statement Setting Out the Reasons for the Decision Not to Add the American Eel to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk, this recommendation is also informed by socio-economic considerations and DFO’s commitment to address threats and promote the conservation of American Eel under the Fisheries Act.

Consultation

Consultations were held from November 2015 to March 2016. Given the wide range of the species and the implications of a decision on listing, consultations garnered significant interest. A total of 330 responses were received: 95 respondents supported the listing, 197 were opposed to the listing, 11 were unsure, 26 did not specify a position, and one supported referring the species back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration. The following paragraph provides a general overview of the responses received from Indigenous groups, stakeholders and the Canadian public. While not all comments are reflected below, all comments received were considered in the decision not to list the American Eel on Schedule 1 of SARA.

A total of 170 out of 184 responses received from the fishing industry were opposed to the listing, referencing socio-economic impacts. In contrast, 19 out of 23 responses received from environmental non-governmental organizations supported listing, noting the species would be better protected if it were listed. For the hydroelectric industry, 6 out of 7 comments were opposed to the listing over concerns that it would result in significant additional costs depending on mitigation measures that would be required. Of the 27 responses from Indigenous groups, 14 supported the listing, one was opposed to the listing, and 12 commented without specifying if they supported or opposed the listing. Of the 14 Indigenous groups that supported the listing, some did so on the condition that FSC and communal commercial fisheries could continue. Additionally, two thirds of the responses received from citizens and the academic sector supported the listing. Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were all opposed to the listing, while Ontario supported the listing. Newfoundland and Labrador suggested that the assessment be referred back to COSEWIC. The Torngat Joint Fisheries Board did not express an opinion on the listing.

A consultation check-in period was also held between January 25, 2024, and May 3, 2024, inviting interested parties to confirm or update their previous positions on the listing or offer additional information to be considered. In total, 92 check-in responses were received: 33 respondents supported the listing, 41 were opposed to the listing, 16 did not specify a position, and 2 supported referring the species back to COSEWIC. Similar to the original consultations, a large majority of fishing and hydroelectric industry responses were opposed to the listing, and a majority of responses from environmental non-governmental organizations and members of the public supported the listing. Of the 23 responses from Indigenous groups, 9 supported the listing, 6 were opposed to the listing, 6 did not specify a position on the listing, and 2 supported referring the species back to COSEWIC. Most provincial positions did not change, although Newfoundland and Labrador responded that they are opposed to the listing, and no response was received from Prince Edward Island. Many concerns raised during check-ins were similar to those heard during the original consultations. Additional key messages received during check-ins included emphasis on the cultural and historical significance of the American Eel to Indigenous partners, concerns about the impacts of elver fishing and illegal elver harvesting on the species, and frustration about the lack of a decision on the listing of the American Eel.

Lastly, in making the recommendation not to list the American Eel, the Minister of the Environment has consulted the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, as the other competent ministers, and consulted the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board, a wildlife management board that has authority for American Eel under a land claims agreement.

Contact

Species at Risk Program
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Email: SARA_LEP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca