FISH HABITAT BANKING

A project proponent that is aware of a future project(s) can do the required offsetting in advance and deposit the credits into a fish habitat bank.  A policy change by DFO in 2016 allowed project proponents to develop fish habitat banks.  This policy change was formalized with the addition of Sections 42.01 to 42.04 to the 2019 Fisheries Act. DFO now encourages project proponents, especially proponents which own and operate significant infrastructure, to develop habitat banks rather than tradition offsetting.

Fish habitat banks offer the following advantages to DFO:

  • Permitting is more straightforward

  • No legislated review timelines that create pressure on DFO

  • Lower risk of failure because the offsetting is done in advance

  • DFO does not have to pursue proponents for failed offsetting projects

  • Reduced risk of political interference to keep projects moving forward

Fish habitat banks offer the following advantages to project proponents:

  • The projects designed for habitat banks can be large to provide the proponent with significant economies of scale

  • Provided the bank contains sufficient credits, the proponent can obtain their authorization under the Fisheries Act in days rather than months, thereby helping keep projects on schedule

  • Because there is a lower risk of failure, the proponent can generally negotiate better ratios with DFO

  • Proponents can use credits in their habitat bank rather than provide a Letter of Credit

  • Unlike offsetting, any unused credits can be held in the bank to be used at a future date

  • Proponents may be able to reuse credits provided to offset temporary impacts

Based on experience working on dozens of habitat banking projects in the US, 5SSR staff developed the first two fish habitat banks in Canada and is working with several other large clients to develop new fish habitat banks.  Because of the advantages they offer, it is likely that habitat banks will become more common. 5SSR is uniquely qualified to help project proponents strategically develop fish habitat banks to save money and fast track project approvals. 

The following project profiles highlight some of 5SSR staff experience with habitat banking.