Standards and guidelines for fish and fish habitat

Ensuring your project meets provincial government standards will improve data quality and provide consistent information for assessment, planning and management purposes.

Fish and fish habitat inventory standards

Fish and fish habitat inventories provide information about fish distribution and the condition and capability of supporting habitats. Fish and fish habitat inventories require a number of standards and guidelines to ensure that information collected meets a desired level of quality.

Note that standards and guidelines are presented as is, and are current only to the date published. Questions can be directed to fish.issues@gov.bc.ca.

• The Resources Information Standards Committee (RISC) establishes standards for fish and fish habitat inventories. Refer to the RISC Aquatic Ecosystems standards for fish and fish habitat sampling standards, associated field forms and waterbody location information standards
• Fish Inventory Toolkits for Fish and Fish Habitat inventories (Non-Reconnaissance-1:20K)
  • Fish Sampling (PDF, 613KB)
  • Stream Surveys (PDF, 680KB)
  • Lake Survey (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Minimum Fish Data Submission requirements, for data collected as part of Scientific Fish Collection Permit, can be found under Data Requirements and Standard Reporting Format, Self QA

Technical notes

• Rules for Mainstem Designation (PDF, 28KB)
• Handling Provincial/Federal Borders (PDF, 166KB)
• Large Channel Morphology (PDF, 581KB)
• Abney Level (PDF, 82KB)
• Water Sampling: The Metals Package (PDF, 31KB)

Provincial guidelines and Best Management Practices (BMPs)

• Provincial and region specific guidelines and BMPs
• Channel Assessment Procedures Guidebook (PDF, 951KB)
• Riparian Management Area Guidebook
• Fish-Stream Identification Handbook (PDF, 3.5MB) (for guidance on identifying fish bearing streams )
• Regional Timing Windows