N環球 
Canada proposes listing porbeagle shark among 11 aquatic species under Species at Risk Act
Fisheries and Oceans Canada proposes adding 11 aquatic species, including the porbeagle and basking sharks, to the Species at Risk Act; publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I is expected October 10, opening a 30-day public comment period.
Why it matters
This is one of Canada's most significant aquatic-species protection moves in years. The porbeagle was assessed as endangered back in 2004 but was kept off the legal list over commercial fishing interests; the new proposal directly answers the 2022 auditor's finding of a bias against protecting commercially valuable fish.
Full report
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced a proposed order to add 11 aquatic species to Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA): the porbeagle; darkblotched rockfish; North Pacific spiny dogfish; two populations of winter skate; the Laurentian-Scotian population of smooth skate; the Atlantic population of basking shark; the Atlantic population of spiny dogfish; the Great Lakes–Upper St. Lawrence populations of river darter; and both species of Little Quarry Lake threespine stickleback.
The order would also reclassify species already listed: warmouth from special concern to endangered, the Cultus Lake population of coastrange sculpin from threatened to endangered, and split the Eastslope populations of Rocky Mountain sculpin into the Missouri River populations and the Saskatchewan–Nelson River populations.
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said Canadians are a critical part of the conversation on protecting species at risk, noting that people who live and work on the water see what is changing. Details are expected in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on October 10, 2026, followed by a 30-day public comment period before the Governor in Council makes a final decision.
For context, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) designated the porbeagle endangered in May 2004 and confirmed it in 2014, but a 2006 federal order declined to list it on economic grounds. An October 2022 audit by the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development found DFO had avoided listing commercially valuable marine fish in every case examined. Thursday's proposal is the most significant SARA listing of commercially valuable marine fish since that audit.
Sources: Government of Canada (canada.ca) news release; 2022 audit background from the Commissioner's report.
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