Science advice on offsetting techniques for managing the productivity of freshwater fisheries : Avis scientifique sur Les techniques de compensation pour gérer la productivité des pêches en eau douce

The Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat (1986) used the term compensation to describe the “replacement of natural habitat, increase in the productivity of existing habitat, or maintenance of fish production”. [...] The amount of offsetting needed to ensure there are no adverse impacts of the project at the scale of fisheries productivity needs to be carefully considered. [...] The material in the “Categories of Methods” section is presented for what is expected to be the typical scenario where offsetting is being considered: a project has been proposed, a decision has been made that residual impacts on productivity are large enough to require offsetting, and the task is to design an offsetting plan that effectively counteracts residual effects of the project impacts on [...] Given the goals of offsetting, estimating the equivalence of the consequences of serious harm and offsetting benefits of the offsetting project or plan requires a “common currency”, which has not yet been established. [...] Moreover, the more different the direct effects of the offsetting project are from the direct effects of the project itself, the more complex the “currency exchange” can be.