River Darter (Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations)

Species information

The following is a report on progress made towards the protection and recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) (Percina shumardi), in Ontario from 2007 to 2023, based on Ontario’s species-specific recovery policy. This report meets the legislative requirement for a review of progress under the Endangered Species Act, 2007  (ESA or “the Act”). River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) is listed as endangered on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List under the ESA.

River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) was listed as an endangered species under the ESA on June 13, 2017.

The species-specific recovery policy for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), known as the government response statement (GRS) was published in 2019 and includes the government’s recovery goal for the species and the actions and priorities it intends to lead or support to help achieve that goal. The GRS considers science advice provided in the recovery strategy (published in 2018), regarding things such as the species biology, habitat needs, threats to survival, knowledge gaps and approaches to recovery, when developing recovery actions for the species. As legislated in the Act, the purpose of this review is to report on progress made towards implementing the protection and recovery actions in the GRS. The review can also help identify opportunities to adjust and adapt the implementation of protection and recovery actions to achieve the recovery goal for the species.

Further information about River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) including the threats that it faces and actions being taken to help protect and recover this species, is available on the Government of Ontario webpage for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations). A summary on the progress towards the protection and recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) and an annual update on the broader species at risk program (i.e. the Introduction to the 2024 Review of Progress report) is available on the Review of Progress towards the Protection and Recovery of Ontario’s Species at Risk webpage.

Snapshot: Progress towards the protection and recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations)

Progress towards meeting the recovery goal

• The recovery goal in the government response statement (GRS) for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario is to “support the persistence of self-sustaining populations across the species’ distribution. The government supports investigating the feasibility of augmenting existing populations”.
• Progress has been made towards implementing all of the government-led actions. Progress has been made towards implementing three of the government-supported recovery objectives and the majority of their associated actions. Examples of progress include:
  • targeted surveys for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), to improve understanding of where the species occurs
  • increasing awareness of the species through work from partners developing guidance on maintaining municipal drains in fish habitat
  • removing River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) from the list of permitted baitfish species
  • federal research and a recovery potential assessment for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations)
• In alignment with the GRS, further work is required to implement all GRS actions, including to minimize threats in and around the species’ habitat and completing effectiveness monitoring for these activities.

Occurrences and distribution

• Six populations of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) have been documented in Lake St. Clair, Sydenham River, and Thames River. Currently, three of these populations ^{footnote 1[1]}  are extant ^{footnote 2[2]} , whereas the remaining three are considered historical ^{footnote 3[3]} .

Government-supported stewardship projects

• Supporting our partners through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program is an important government-led action identified in the GRS for the species. To date, no stewardship projects have been performed for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations).

Supporting human activities while ensuring appropriate support for species recovery

• The Government of Ontario has issued one permit for this species: one ‘protection or recovery’ (17(2)(b)) permit has been issued for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) since the species has been protected under the ESA.
• Six activities have been undertaken in accordance with a conditional exemption that requires registration under the ESA. The activities followed the conditional exemption for ‘species protection – recovery activities’ (section 23.17), and ’threats to health and safety, not imminent’ (section 23.18) under Ontario Regulation 242/08 of the ESA.

Reporting on the progress towards the protection and recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations)

The implementation of government-led and government-supported actions demonstrates progress towards reaching the desired objectives and the recovery goal set out in the GRS.

Progress towards implementing government-led actions

Progress has been made towards implementing all government-led actions identified in the GRS. Common actions for the government to lead as it works towards achieving a species’ recovery goal include:

• Continue to protect the River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) and its habitat under the ESA.
• Educate other agencies and authorities involved in planning and environmental assessment processes on the protection requirements under the ESA.
• Encourage the submission of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) data to Ontario’s central repository through the citizen science projects that they receive data from (e.g.,  iNaturalist) and directly through the Natural Heritage Information Centre.
• Undertake communications and outreach to increase public awareness of species at risk in Ontario.
• Support conservation, agency, municipal and industry partners, and Indigenous communities and organizations to undertake activities to protect and recover River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations). Support will be provided where appropriate through funding, agreements, permits (including conditions) and/or advisory services.
• Encourage collaboration and establish and communicate annual priority actions for government support in order to reduce duplication of efforts.

Additionally, the government has directly undertaken the following species-specific actions:

• Collaborate with federal partners, such as Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), to implement protection and recovery actions, such as working to explore the removal of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) from the list of eligible bait species under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. As appropriate and necessary, undertake targeted communication with anglers and bait harvesters to increase awareness of eligible and ineligible baitfish species.
• Continue to implement the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan to address the invasive species (e.g., Round Goby, Zebra Mussel, Quagga Mussel) that threaten River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations).

Key progress made towards implementing these actions is described in the following sections.

In 2019, River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) was removed as a permitted baitfish species under the Ontario Fishery Regulations of the federal Fisheries Act, and in 2024 all darters were removed from the permitted baitfish list, which will avoid any possible identification challenges distinguishing between River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) and other darter species. The Ontario Fishery Regulations are made under the federal Fisheries Act, with administration and enforcement by the province of Ontario.

In addition to this, Ontario’s Sustainable Bait Management Strategy (2020) commits to the following actions that will assist in the recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations):

• removal of 15 species from the permitted baitfish list, including nine darter species that may be confused with River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations)
• establishment of four Bait Management Zones (BMZ) that affect the movement, use, and possession of baitfish and leeches to protect lakes and rivers from harmful invasive species and fish diseases (in effect as of January 1, 2022)
• working with industry to develop a Best Management Practices Guide to harvesting bait, including measures to help avoid impacts to Species at Risk and their habitats

The Government of Ontario continues to work with DFO to promote and distribute the ‘Baitfish Primer’ to anglers and commercial bait operators to help educate them on how to identify baitfish species from other species including species at risk and invasive species. 

Invasive species in Ontario

The Government of Ontario is committed to continuing its efforts to prevent, detect, respond to and manage invasive species in order to reduce their harmful impacts in the province, including to species at risk and their habitats. The GRS for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) indicates that invasive species (e.g., Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), and Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis)) pose a threat to the survival and recovery of the species in Ontario by affecting habitat and prey availability.

To prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species including Zebra and Quagga Mussels, watercraft was regulated as a carrier of invasive species under the Invasive Species Act in 2022. It is now a requirement that boaters take mandatory precautions to remove aquatic organisms and drain water from watercraft and watercraft equipment prior to transporting overland or launching into any waterbody in Ontario.

The transportation, possession, and release of live Round Goby in Ontario is prohibited under the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations, and the use of Round Goby as bait is illegal under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. These regulations are both made under the federal Fisheries Act, and are administered and enforced by Ontario.

Government actions to support the recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations)

In 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) published two research documents that contribute to the protection and recovery of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario. Sawatzky (2020) presented information in support of a recovery potential assessment of River Darter, Percina shumardi (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario which describes the knowledge of the biology, ecology, distribution, population trends, habitat requirements, and threats to River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations). Van der Lee and Koops (2020) undertook population modelling of River Darter (Percina shumardi) in Canada to assess the impacts of harm, determine population-based recovery targets, and conduct long-term projections of population recovery to support an assessment of recovery potential for the species.

Provincial researchers (Reid et al, 2020) also supported recovery by undertaking and publishing research on River Darter (Percina shumardi) DNA diversity across the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) National Freshwater Biogeographic Zones to provide a more robust assessment of the population structure of the species in different geographic areas in Canada. The results provided stronger support for the population structure used by COSEWIC when the species was assessed, and this will inform evaluations of the feasibility of River Darter population management actions should this be explored in the future.

These research publications addressed the research and monitoring objective and actions identified in the GRS for the species by increasing the level of understanding of the species’ distribution, habitat requirements, life history characteristics, population and habitat trends, as well as by providing information on the feasibility of population management actions.  

Occurrences and distribution

Tracking the occurrences and distribution of a species is a useful way to monitor and view where a species is found and how it is doing. Ontario’s Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), the government’s central data repository, gathers and manages this type of biodiversity information. NHIC tracks and maps this data as species observations and individual element occurrences, where an element occurrence is an area of land and/or water where a species or plant community is or was present, and has a practical conservation value. For the purposes of this report, ‘population’ is an alternative name for element occurrence.

Six populations of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) have been documented in Ontario. Three are considered to be extant, and three are considered to be historical. The extant populations are located in Lake St. Clair, the Sydenham River, and the Thames River. Since 2008, the government’s central conservation data repository at the NHIC has received 26 records of the species. These records are based on observations between 1980 and 2019 and come from a variety of sources. Records submitted have helped to refine where the species is known and has been known to occur and provide additional information on the species’ habitat needs and threats.

Based on records that have been received since 2008, the species’ presence has been re-confirmed at all three extant sites in 2013 (Lake St. Clair), in 2016 (Thames River) and in 2019 (East Sydenham and North Sydenham River).

Extensive search effort within the Thames and Sydenham River has occurred since 2005, with surveys covering over 1,000 suitable sites using a variety of gear. Despite these efforts, Sawatzky (2020) noted that River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) continues to be rare (and yields low catch per unit effort).

It is possible that there are observations of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) have that have not been submitted to the government. Encouraging the submission of observations of this species is included in the GRS as a government-led action. Submission of species observations increases our knowledge of where they occur and can play an important role in assessing the viability of species populations.

Everyone is encouraged, or may be required by an authorization or condition of a regulatory exemption, to submit observations of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), and any other species at risk observed, to the NHIC for incorporation into the provincial record of observations.

Government-supported stewardship projects

Supporting our partners through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program is an important government-led action identified in the GRS for the species. To date, no stewardship projects have been funded for the species.

Supporting human activities while ensuring appropriate support for species recovery

Supporting partners through authorizations and their associated conditions is an important government-led action.

One ‘protection or recovery’ (17(2)(b)) permit has been issued for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) since the species has been protected under the ESA. ‘Protection or recovery’ permits are issued if the purpose of the activity is to assist, and the activity will assist in the protection or recovery of a species at risk. The permit was issued for multiple species, including River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), to implement fish and mussel surveys throughout the Thames River watershed and improve knowledge related to their abundance, habitat and threats.

Registration information

Six activities that may affect River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) or its habitat have been registered for the purposes of Ontario Regulation 242/08: ‘General’ under the ESA. Four of these activities were registered under the conditional exemption for ‘species protection, recovery activities’ (section 23.17); and two activities under ‘threats to human health and safety, not imminent’ (section 23.18). These registrations require the registrant to comply with all conditions of the regulation, such as:

• helping to minimize or avoid adverse effects on the species
• taking reasonable steps to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on a species and its habitat
• reporting species observations using the Ontario Species at Risk Observation Reporting Form, and submitting them to the NHIC

Progress towards implementing government-supported actions

Government-supported actions are organized under overarching recovery objectives. Progress has been made towards achieving three government-supported recovery objectives identified in the GRS for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations).

Objective: Increase the level of understanding of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) distribution, habitat requirements, life history characteristics, population and habitat trends, and the feasibility and necessity of population management actions (i.e., augmentation):

• Action No. 1 (High Priority) – Develop and implement a standardized protocol to inventory and monitor River Dater (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), and where possible, coordinate efforts for other species at risk fish which occur in the same ecosystem. Actions include:
  • surveying for the species’ presence/absence in current and historical habitat
  • monitoring changes in distribution and habitat conditions where the species is known to occur

• Action No. 2 – Research habitat needs of all life-stages and important life history characteristics (e.g., spawning period), to inform recovery efforts.
• Action No. 3 – Investigate the severity and extent of known threats, such as siltation and sedimentation, nutrient loading, runoff of pollutants, dredging, and potential threats such as invasive species, in current and historical habitat.
• Action No. 4 – Investigate the necessity and feasibility of augmenting the species where River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) is presently found. Actions may include:
  • assessing whether current threats can be sufficiently mitigated or reversed in order to enable successful augmentation
  • undertaking population viability analysis for extant populations
  • evaluating the feasibility of captive rearing and release, including identifying potential source populations

Under this objective, progress has been made towards implementing Actions 1 (High Priority), 2, 3, and 4.

Since 2005, stewardship and research partners have actively searched for the species using a variety of search methods and coordinated these efforts with other species at risk that occur in the same ecosystem (Action No. 1)

Progress has been made towards implementing Actions No. 2-4 through federal partner research that improved the level of understanding of the species’ distribution, habitat requirements, life history characteristics, population and habitat trends, and providing information on the feasibility of population management actions.  

Projects were also authorized through a protection and recovery permit under the ESA to collect baseline information on the presence of fish and mussel species throughout the Thames River watershed.   

Objective: Maintain or improve the quality of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) habitat in Ontario through the mitigation of threats:

• Action No. 5 (High Priority) – Minimize threats in and around the species’ habitat by undertaking activities and completing effectiveness monitoring for these activities, including:
  • implementing natural shoreline stabilization techniques to prevent sedimentation caused by erosion
  • developing and implementing Environmental Farm Plans and Nutrient Management Plan
  • developing and implementing and updating best management practices to inform dredging operations and techniques to reduce siltation, turbidity, nutrient loading, and runoff of pollutants

Under this objective, initial progress has been made towards implementing Action No. 5 (High Priority). The action has been supported through the creation of guidance and tools to minimize threats in and around the species’ habitat in Ontario. For example, DFO has worked with other agencies and agricultural organizations to develop guidance for maintaining and repairing municipal drains in Ontario which outlines best practices during maintenance activities to minimize impacts to fish and fish habitat, including measures to reduce siltation and runoff. Another example is the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) support for improved nutrient management practices adopted by farms across the province that help to minimize nutrient loss and protect water quality.

OMAFA also encourages and supports farmers to implement environmentally-friendly agricultural and farming practices through the Canada-Ontario Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership which includes Environmental Farm Plan workshops. These workshops are delivered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.

Objective: Increase level of public awareness and engagement in protecting and recovering River Darter (Great Lakes – St. Lawrence populations):

• Action No. 6 (High Priority) – Collaborate with Indigenous communities and organizations, landowners, land managers, and conservation partners to promote awareness of River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) among people engaged in agricultural, stewardship, fishing, and shoreline modification activities within the species’ range by sharing information on:
  • how to identify the species
  • the species’ habitat requirements
  • protection afforded to the species and its habitat under the ESA
  • actions that can be taken to avoid or minimize impacts to the species and its habitat
• Action No. 7 – Undertake work consistent with existing provincial programs to promote awareness of invasive species (e.g., Ontario’s Invading Species Awareness Program) in Ontario and implement actions to prevent, respond to, and manage the spread of invasive species.

Under this objective, progress has been made towards implementing Action No. 6 (High Priority) and Action No. 7 through the development of a Baitfish Primer to help educate anglers and bait harvesters on the appearance and range of the species while communicating restrictions, through outreach and education campaigns increasing awareness of invasive species, and through the development of guidance on maintaining municipal drains in fish habitat.

Summary of progress towards meeting the recovery goal

The recovery goal for River Darter (Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations) is to “support the persistence of self-sustaining populations across the species’ distribution. The government supports investigating the feasibility of augmenting existing populations”. Effort made towards the government-led and government-supported actions has helped to make progress towards this goal.

The government has made considerable progress on government-led actions, including achieving their commitment to remove River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) from the list of eligible bait species under the Ontario Fishery Regulations and undertaking targeted communication with anglers and bait harvesters to increase awareness of eligible and ineligible baitfish species.

The government has also made progress on addressing invasive species that threaten River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) by regulating watercraft as a carrier of invasive species under the Invasive Species Act in 2022. The new rules for boaters will help to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species, including Zebra and Quagga Mussels, which can occur though the movement of watercraft overland to other waterbodies in Ontario.

Ontario researchers and partners have continued to be involved in government-supported actions by improving knowledge of the species through regular survey efforts in areas where the species has been known to occur. Partners have also made efforts to produce guidance on maintaining and repairing municipal drains to share knowledge and improve awareness on fish habitat and best management practices to minimize affects on fish species and their habitats.

In addition, a recovery potential assessment that was completed by DFO provides further information on River Darter’s (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) population viability. The analysis indicates there is likely sufficient habitat in the Thames River to meet the needs of a sustainable population. However, further information in the Sydenham River is needed to determine whether populations are sustainable in this location. This work supports feasibility assessments of augmenting populations, should this be explored in the future, and works toward the recovery goal of supporting the persistence of self-sustaining populations.

Recommendations

As stated in the GRS, this review of progress can be used to help identify whether adjustments to the implementation of GRS actions are needed, to achieve the protection and recovery of the species. Based on progress to date, the overall direction provided in the GRS for River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations), particularly the implementation of actions identified as high priority and those that have had less effort directed at them, should continue to guide protection and recovery of the species.

While initial progress has been made in minimizing threats in and around the species’ habitat, further information is required regarding the effectiveness monitoring for these activities - Action No. 5 (High Priority).

Protecting and recovering River Darter (Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence populations) will continue to be a shared responsibility that will require the involvement of many individuals, organizations and communities. Financial support for the implementation of actions may be available through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program. The government can also advise if any authorizations under the ESA or other legislation may be required to undertake a project. By working together, progress can continue to be made towards protecting and recovering River Darter (Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario.

References

Pratt, T.C., Gardner, W.M., Watkinson, D.A., and Bouvier, L.D. 2015. An update of River Darter (Percina shumardi) distribution, relative abundance, life history traits, diet and habitat in Canadian waters. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2015/011. v + 19 p.

Pratt, T.C., Gardner, W.M., Watkinson, D.A., and Bouvier, L.D. 2016. Ecology of the River Darter in Canadian waters: Distribution, Relative Abundance, Life-History Traits, Diet, and Habitat Characteristics. Diversity 8(4): 22. doi:10.3390/d8040022

Reid, S. M., Haxton, T., and McCarthy, A. 2020. River Darter (Percina shumardi) mitochondrial DNA haplotype diversity across COSEWIC National Freshwater Biogeographic Zones. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2020/051. v + 15 p.

Sawatzky, C.D. 2020. Information in support of a recovery potential assessment of River Darter, Percina shumardi (Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/063. iv + 32 p

Van der Lee, A.S., and Koops, M.A. 2020. Recovery Potential Modelling of River Darter (Percina shumardi) in Canada. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/064. iv + 25 p.