Canadians will soon be asked to put a dollar figure on saving endangered aquatic species as the Department of Fisheries launches an unusual survey under the Species At Risk Act.A notice to contractors said the project aims to “estimate the benefits of protecting and recovering endangered and threatened aquatic species at risk by collecting new information on the value Canadians place on these species.” No budget for the work was disclosed.Blacklock's Reporter sais the department said it will gather data on six species already assessed as threatened or endangered, though it did not name them. .Recent recommendations from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife included the bull trout in Saskatchewan, the Greenland shark in Atlantic waters, the sunflower sea star off the Pacific Coast, and the pugnose minnow in southwestern Ontario.Ottawa argued the survey will help support cost-benefit analysis in deciding whether to restrict development or industry in the name of conservation. Under the Species At Risk Act, cabinet has blocked subdivisions, mining projects and other economic activity to protect habitat. .A Quebec development worth $22.3 million was halted in 2015 to save the western chorus frog, while an Alberta motocross club was fined $70,000 in 2019 for damaging trout streams.Penalties for harming endangered species run as high as $1 million for corporations and up to $250,000 and five years in prison for individuals.Cabinet has previously justified strict protections on the grounds that “society places substantial value” on vulnerable wildlife, even when their survival has no clear economic benefit.
