New Hope for a Small but Mighty Minnow in the GTA?

The federal government has just announced a crucial habitat protection order for the redside dace, a mighty minnow fighting for survival in and around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Under Section 58 of the Species at Risk Act this order now prohibits any destruction of the dace’s critical habitat in number of important watersheds, including Saugeen River, Bronte Creek, Credit River, Humber River, Don River, Rouge River, Duffins Creek and Carruthers Creek. Potentially, this could mean a very comprehensive prohibition on any further habitat disturbance, which would offer much needed hope for a species that has been under increasing pressure.

What is a Redside Dace?

Known for its flashy red side stripe and ability to consume vast quantities of mosquitoes, almost 90% of its population in Ontario lives within the GTA. It needs clean, cool streams to survive and is the only minnow in Canada that jumps out of the water to catch insect prey. It also plays an essential role in our ecosystems – as an insectivore it helps manage the populations of insects like mosquitoes. Pretty helpful in the summertime!

Redside dace © Lisa Vanin

Once common throughout the GTA’s watersheds, the dace is now limited to the headwaters of a number of rivers. It has been considered endangered in Ontario since 2009. The decline in their population can be linked to habitat disturbance which limits its food source and ability to hunt, increased water temperatures, altered water flows which impacts its resting pools and contaminated runoff from intensive agriculture.

Ontario Government Falling Short

According to terrific reporting in the Narwhal, its population is shrinking by more than five per cent annually, yet the Ontario government approved about 500 permits from 2007 to 2020 for activities affecting its habitat. So it’s unsurprising the federal government gave the province’s input short shrift. In scathing commentary, the order states:

“The MTO [Ministry of Transportation of Ontario], the MECP [Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks] and TC Energy suggested revisions to the critical habitat identification. All three organizations were seeking alignment with the province’s (then) proposed regulatory amendments on habitat protection for Redside Dace under the Ontario Endangered Species Act,2007 (ESA). However, since the proposed changes under the ESA would have limited the recovery potential for the species, were not based on the North American scientific standard that DFO applies… no modifications to the recovery strategy were made as a result of these comments.”

Redside dace © Jon Clayton

As we have previously written, the Ontario government seems intent on facilitating development at all costs. This includes paving the way for the proposed Highway 413 – an unnecessary and costly project that stands to impact some of the last remaining potential redside dace habitat in the northern reaches of the Greater Toronto Area (and would harm many other species at risk as well).

Whichever level of government is involved, we need to halt further habitat disturbance for the dace’s survival. I hope this last gasp effort is enforced and succeeds. The last thing we want is another amazing Ontario species going locally extinct like the Blanchards’ cricket frog.