NPCA-2018-010 - Fish Consumption Survey, Research Implementation & Outreach

Overview:
The Niagara River (Ontario) Remedial Action Plan (RAP) initiative was established in the late 1980s in response to commitments in the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Canada-Ontario Agreement. The RAP is a community-based cleanup effort with various partners including government (federal, provincial, municipal), non-government organizations, First Nations, Métis, industries, scientists, and interested citizens that work together to restore water quality and ecosystem health in the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC). The goal of the RAP initiative is to complete actions related to environmental issues (called beneficial use impairments) and ultimately remove the Niagara River from the list of 36 remaining Great Lakes AOCs. There are separate but complementary RAP initiatives on both sides of the Niagara River.

The coordination of the RAP initiative is made possible through funding support from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, in partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

There are restrictions on fish consumption in the Niagara River due to pollutants such as mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. As a result, the consumption of fish was listed as a beneficial use impairment since the RAP’s inception in the late-1980s. The delisting criteria for this BUI refer to contaminants in the fish being consumed in the Niagara River. A comprehensive survey of the Niagara River fishery and angler consumption habits was conducted in the late 1990s but is now outdated. Recent information from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s creel survey indicates that both on-water and shoreline fishers catch and eat fish from the upper and lower Niagara River. Different species are targeted in each portion of the Niagara River from on-water and shore fishers. Despite the extensive data gathered from the creel survey, there are some information gaps related to which fish species and size are eaten (a category in the creel survey is “anything” and “other”), how often they are eaten, and whether the survey captures all demographics fishing the Niagara River (i.e., cultural or language barriers). The 2016 combined census divisions of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, and Fort Erie (the three municipalities bordering the Niagara River AOC) had a population of 136,392 residents. A total of 21,555 people in the same combined census divisions identified a language other than English as their mother tongue, with the most frequently mentioned languages stated as Italian, Spanish, Serbian, French, and Mandarin.

In early 2018, the Niagara River RAP (through the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority) retained a professional consultant to develop a research approach for surveying and engaging with local fishers (shoreline and on-water) to determine fish consumption habits in the Niagara River (with a focus on the Ontario side). The survey and detailed research approach were completed in May 2018 (referred to as Phase 1). The following objectives and deliverables were derived from the previously developed survey and approach in Phase 1. As much as possible, we request that the research approach be followed as written and that the community, volunteers, and members of the RAP Committees be engaged and involved whenever possible. Note that some parts of the overall fish consumption research approach (Phase 1) will be completed separately (yet simultaneously) by the RAP Team (led by the RAP Project Manager) (e.g., survey translation, online survey delivery, Eat Safe Fish from the Niagara River educational materials). Furthermore, given there is little information available as to the extent of Indigenous people fishing along or on the Niagara River, and that the three main confederacies in the Niagara Region are located a distance from the river, the RAP Team (in consultation with the MNRF/MOECC Advisors) would like to work with First Nations or Métis individuals to assess the degree of indigenous fishing in the Niagara River to adapt and implement the survey in their own community or through their own culturally-appropriate approach. This portion of the project may be completed separately depending on their preference for implementation.

Scope of work

 Objectives