Mine – Pre-Development Stream Monitoring For Fish Habitat

In Feb 2004, Shell’s Jackpine Mine Application for development of an oil sands mine and bitumen extraction plant, a cogeneration plant, and a fresh water pipeline was approved. The Jackpine Fish and Fish Habitat Program aims to satisfy a 5 year commitment to refine predictive capacity of habitat suitability index (HSI) models for fish present in the project study area. In May 2010, DFO issued Shell a Fisheries Act Authorization for harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat (HADD) in support of the Muskeg River Mine Expansion (MRME) Oil Sands Project. As part of the approval, Shell must undertake fish and fish habitat assessments of watercourses in the area. The MRME Fish and Fish Habitat Program is a 5 year study to verify and advance predictive capacity of HSI models for fish in the study area to generate more fish population and habitat data and further refine and calibrate regional HSI models, incorporating advancements made during the 5 year Jackpine Program. Final HSI models will act as a tool to (1) re-quantify project-related losses of fish and fish habitat, (2) guide the design and construction of fish compensation habitats, and (3) verify whether compensation habitats are satisfying the terms and conditions set out in project-specific approvals.

5 reports present 5 years of data from the Jackpine Fish and Fish Habitat Program (2006-2010) and 1 report presents 2011 data collected for the MRME Program, which builds on the Jackpine Program and will also run for 5 years. Regional HSI models were developed for 14 fish species, including Arctic grayling, brook stickleback, fathead minnow, lake chub, longnose sucker, northern pike, pearl dace, slimy sculpin, spoonhead sculpin, spottail shiner, walleye, white sucker, lake whitefish and yellow perch. Each model was constructed using measurable biological, chemical and physical characteristics of habitat required by the species of interest at some stage of its life cycle. The regional HSI models were first developed in 2005. In 2008, adjustments were made to existing models and new models were developed for seven more species, including brassy minnow, northern redbelly dace, flathead chub, longnose dace, mountain whitefish, trout-perch, and burbot. The MRME Program is continuing this work.