Please provide enough details specifying your role/participation in projects and what types
of work (methods/techniques) the project involved, to clearly demonstrate your competency
with the criteria.
Table 1:
Fisheries Assessment Specialist Qualification Requirements
Component Requirements
Education
Degree/Diploma and specialization
MTO Fisheries Protocol Training
Experience
Qualifications
Degree/Diploma:
Institution name:
Date completed:
Date successfully completed:
Related Work Experience
Have____ years work experience in the
_____________field since completing
degree/diploma (provide a brief summary
of experience).
Conducting fisheries inventories
and habitat assessments
Have conducted ____ fisheries inventories
and habitat assessments (provide a brief
summary of projects).
Evaluating effects of development
and/or land use activities on fish
habitat
Have completed _____fisheries impact
assessments involving development within
or adjacent to fish habitat and including
evaluating the effects of roadway
construction/widening on fish habitat for
(provide a brief summary of projects).
Planning and designing fish and fish Have developed fish and fish habitat
habitat mitigation measures
mitigation measures for ____ projects
(provide a brief summary of projects).
Experience and/or knowledge of the
application of DFO’s Risk
Management Framework and the
Fisheries Act Authorization process,
gained through project experience
and/or successful completion of a
supplementary case study exercise
administered by MTO
Provide a brief summary of projects that
demonstrates that you have sufficient
project experience using DFO’s Risk
Management Framework (i.e. multiple
projects) and knowledge of the Fisheries
Act Authorization process. If you do not
have sufficient project experience with the
RMF, you may contact your MTO Regional
Environmental Office to arrange to
complete a case study exercise to satisfy
this requirement.
Knowledge of federal and provincial
legislation, policies and procedures
for fish and fish habitat in Ontario
Extensive knowledge of federal and
provincial legislation and policies for fish
and fish habitat in Ontario through the
experience stated above including impact
assessments, Class EA projects,
construction supervision, etc. (list
applicable legislation and policies).
Below are some specific examples to assist you.
Component
Experience
Requirement
Conducting fisheries
inventories and
habitat assessments
Qualifications
Conducted fisheries assessments and
inventories on various watercrossings
throughout project limits.
OR
Completed fisheries assessments and
inventories on 50 watercourses/drainage
crossings.
OR
Conducted fish sampling (25+ sites)
throughout Lake Ontario
Component
Experience
Requirement
Conducting fisheries
inventories and
habitat assessments
Qualifications
Conducted fisheries assessments and
inventories on various watercrossings along
Hwy X using backpack electrofishing and
seine netting. Identified fish species and
collected length/weight data to assess
community structure. Responsible for
collecting baseline data on streams which
have the potential to be impacted by ongoing mining and forestry.
OR
Conducted fisheries inventories on 48
watercrossings within the Hwy X project
limits including:
• Electrofishing (backpack)
• Spawning Surveys and habitat
assessments
Component
Experience
Requirement
Experience and/or
knowledge of the
application of DFO’s
Risk Management
Framework and the
Fisheries Act
Authorization
process, gained
through project
experience and/or
successful
completion of a
supplementary case
study exercise
administered by MTO
Qualifications
I have taken the Fisheries Protocol training
and have used DFO’s Risk Management
Framework before.
OR
I have not had the chance to use the Risk
Management Framework but I did take the
training.



Component
Experience

Requirement
Experience and/or
knowledge of the
application of DFO’s
Risk Management
Framework and the
Fisheries Act
Authorization
process, gained
through project
experience and/or
successful
completion of a
supplementary case
study exercise
administered by MTO
Qualifications
I have used the Risk Management
Framework to determine the level of risk on
12 projects.
 E.g. Project X:
o Widening a 2-lane highway to 4 lanes;
o Impacts to 3 coldwater creeks and
aquatic SAR but no channel
realignments
o Completed an Aquatic Effects
Assessment to determine the negative
residual effects; using the RMF
determined that the Scale of Negative
Effects was low and the Scale of
Sensitivity was moderate.
o Overall risk of impact to fish and fish
habitat was determined to be low.
 E.g. Project Y:
o Widening a 4-lane highway to 6 lanes
o Impacts to 4 warmwater and 5
coldwater watercourses including 6
channel realignments; no aquatic SAR
o Using the RMF it was determined that
due to the channel realignments, the
Scale of Negative effects was high and
the Scale of Sensitivity was moderatehigh resulting in an overall high risk of
impacts to fish and fish habitat.
o Worked collaboratively with MTO and
DFO to develop a compensation plan
o Completed a LOI and Fisheries Act
Authorization application and submitted
to DFO for review.
o Authorization granted, BU-09-8765
OR
Successfully completed the case study
exercise at the East Region MTO Office on
March 1, 2013.
Although I have not had any projects
requiring a Fisheries Act Authorization, I am
familiar with the principles behind the
process. For example, where a project is
determined to have a moderate or high risk of
impact to fish and fish habitat, a FAA would
be required. In this case, a compensation
plan would need to be developed in
consultation with DFO. Once agreed upon,
this would then be submitted to DFO along
with the required supporting documentation
including the Letter of Intent and Fisheries Act
Authorization application form for approval. If
the application is accepted and an
Authorization is granted, the construction and
monitoring of the project would proceed
according to the conditions detailed in the
Authorization.