Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat

Summary

This document provides a statement of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ policy objectives, goals and strategies for the management of fish habitats supporting Canada’s freshwater and marine fisheries. Fish habitats constitute healthy production systems for the nation’s fisheries and, when the habitats are functioning well, Canada’s fish stocks will continue to produce economic and social benefits throughout the country.

The policy provides objective statements against which the Department can measure its performance in fish habitat management and offers a framework for more consistent administration of the Department’s habitat management program. It signals a renewed effort by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to increase the social and economic benefits derived by Canadians from productive fish habitats and the fisheries resources they support.

In a broader sense, this policy will contribute directly to the management of human use of the biosphere, so that it may yield the greatest environmentally sustainable economic benefit to mankind.

— Excerpt from the document