Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 (SOR/86-21)

Application

• 3 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), these Regulations apply to the management and control of fishing for the species of fish that are set out in Schedule I and that originate from

  • (a) the Convention Area;

  • (b) the tidal waters of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec;

  • (c) the waters of Ungava Bay; and

  • (d) the waters of Hudson Strait lying east of 70°00′ west longitude.

• (2) Where no species of fish is referred to in a provision of Part IV or XI, that provision applies in respect of any species of fish, whether or not that species is set out in Schedule I.

• (2.1) Subject to paragraph (3)(c), these Regulations apply to the management and control of the harvesting of marine plants in the Atlantic coastal waters of Canada.

• (3) These Regulations do not apply in respect of

  • (a) a foreign fishing vessel or a person fishing on board such a vessel, except where the vessel is used for recreational fishing in Canadian fisheries waters;

  • (b) fishing for anadromous or catadromous fish in tidal waters of Quebec as defined in the Quebec Fishery Regulations;

  • (c) manual harvesting of dulse or harvesting of other marine plants that have become detached from the bottom;

  • (d) angling for salmon; or

  • (e) any cultivated Atlantic salmon that are found in or taken from an aquaculture facility or any cultivated clams, mussels, oysters or scallops, of any species, that are so found or taken.

• (4) Subject to paragraph 49.01(c) and subsections 49.3(2) and 91(1), the close times set out in these Regulations do not apply with respect to recreational fishing in accordance with subsection 15(1) or (2).

• (5) Sections 13 to 14, 17, 17.1, 20 to 22, 39 to 45 and 46 to 50, subsection 51.3(1) and sections 51.4, 52, 54, 57, 61, 61.1, 63, 66, 68, 69, 70.1 to 72, 74, 77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 87, 90, 91, 99, 106, 106.1 and 108 to 115.1 do not apply with respect to fishing and related activities carried out under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations and sections 18 and 19 do not apply to the issuance of licences under those Regulations.

• (6) Despite subsection (5), only sections 51, 53, 54, 59, 61, 61.1, 68, 76, 78 to 80 and 86 and Part X apply in respect of Inuit domestic fishing, being the exercise by a person of the right to harvest any species or stock of fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes in accordance with the Agreement defined in section 2 of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act.

PART I[Repealed, SOR/93-61, s. 3]

PART IIRegistration of Persons and Vessels and Licensing of Persons

Interpretation

12 In this Part, document means a fisherman’s registration card, a vessel registration card or a licence.

Registration Cards, Licences and Certificates

• 13 (1) Subject to section 15 and subsection 51.1(2), no person shall use a vessel, and no owner of a vessel shall permit another person to use the vessel, in fishing for any species of fish referred to in these Regulations unless

  • (a) a vessel registration card has been issued in respect of the vessel;

  • (b) the use of the vessel to fish for that species of fish is authorized by a licence; and

  • (c) subject to subsection (2), the person who is using the vessel is named in the licence referred to in paragraph (b).

• (2) If a licence is issued authorizing the use of a vessel to fish for a species of fish and an operator is not named in the licence, any registered fisher or any person holding a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate may operate that vessel to fish for that species.

• 13.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall use a vessel, and no owner of a vessel shall permit another person to use that vessel, to transport any species of fresh fish referred to in these Regulations unless

  • (a) a vessel registration card has been issued in respect of the vessel; and

  • (b) the use of that vessel to transport that species is authorized by a licence.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the vessel used in transporting fresh fish is

  • (a) the vessel that was engaged in the catching of that fish; or

  • (b) a vessel designated under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

13.2 No person who is fishing under the authority of a licence that does not specify the use of a specific vessel shall permit a vessel to be used to transport any species of fresh fish caught under the authority of that licence unless the use of that vessel to transport that species is authorized by a licence.

• 14 (1) Subject to subsection (4) and section 15, no person shall fish for any species of fish set out in Schedule I unless

  • (a) the person holds a fisher’s registration card or a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate; and

  • (b) the person is authorized under subsection (2) to fish for that species.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), a person is authorized to fish for a species of fish if that person is

  • (a) the holder of a licence for that species;

  • (b) on board a vessel and is named as the operator of that vessel in a licence that authorizes the use of that vessel to fish for that species;

  • (c) accompanying a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

  • (d) on board a vessel the owner of which is the holder of a licence that authorizes the use of that vessel in fishing for that species and an operator is not named in the licence; or

  • (e) authorized in accordance with subsection 23(2) of the Fishery (General) Regulations.

• (3) Paragraphs 2(b) to (d) do not apply to a person engaged in recreational fishing.

• (4) A person who is less than 16 years of age may engage in fishing without being registered or without holding a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate.

• 15 (1) The holder of a licence for recreational fishing may fish for a species specified in that licence

  • (a) without being registered or without holding a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate; and

  • (b) from a vessel that is not registered.

• (2) A person may, without being registered, without holding a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate or without being licensed, and with a vessel that is not registered, engage in recreational fishing

  • (a) for groundfish with a hand-line or by angling;

  • (b) for mackerel with a hand-line or by angling;

  • (c) for capelin with any fishing gear other than trap nets, seines or mobile gear; or

  • (d) for squid with any fishing gear other than trap nets or mobile gear.

• (2.1) A person less than 16 years of age who does not hold a licence may engage in recreational fishing when accompanied by the holder of a recreational fishing licence if the fishing is done in accordance with the conditions of the licence.

• (3) A person who is designated under paragraph 4(2)(a) or subsection 4(3) of the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations to fish under the authority of a licence issued under subsection 4(1) of those Regulations may engage in fishing in accordance with the conditions of that licence

  • (a) without being registered or without holding a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate; and

  • (b) from a vessel that is not registered.

16 No person shall harvest marine plants except under the authority of a licence issued for that purpose by the Minister under section 45 of the Act.

Application for Documents

• 17 (1) An application for a document is to be made to the Minister on a form supplied by the Minister and accompanied by the appropriate fee.

• (2) Subject to subsections (2.1) to (2.3), the fee for a document set out in column I of an item of Part I of Schedule II is the fee set out in column II of that item.

• (2.1) Subject to subsections (2.2) and (2.3), if a commercial fishing licence authorizes the taking of specific quantities of any species set out in Part II of Schedule II, the fee for the licence shall be the sum of the products determined by multiplying the number of tonnes of each species set out in column I of Part II that are authorized to be taken under the licence from the waters set out in column II by the fee per tonne set out in column III.

• (2.2) Where any product calculated pursuant to subsection (2.1) in respect of any species of fish, other than groundfish,

  • (a) is less than $2,500.00 that product shall be reduced by 40 percent; or

  • (b) is $2,500.00 or more that product shall be reduced by $1,000.00.

• (2.3) Where the sum of the products calculated pursuant to subsection (2.1) in respect of all species of groundfish

  • (a) is less than $2,500.00 that sum shall be reduced by 40 percent; or

  • (b) is $2,500.00 or more that sum shall be reduced by $1,000.00.

• (3) to (5) [Repealed, SOR/93-61, s. 6]

Registration

• 17.1 (1) Where, pursuant to section 17, the Minister receives an application for a fisher’s registration card or a vessel registration card, he may issue that card.

• (2) Where, pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister issues a fisher’s registration card to a person or a vessel registration card in respect of a vessel, that person or vessel is registered with the Department.

PART IIIInshore and Coastal Licences

Interpretation

• 17.2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

  family member

  family member has the meaning assigned by paragraph (a) of the definition related persons in subsection 251(2) of the Income Tax Act. (membre de la famille)

  inshore family fishing corporation

  inshore family fishing corporation means a corporation that operates an inshore fishing enterprise and that meets the following conditions:

  • (a) 100% of its voting shares are held by a licence holder;

  • (b) the sole director is the licence holder or, if the licence holder is a corporation, all of the shares of which belong to one individual, that individual; and

  • (c) 100% of its non-voting shares, if any, are held by

    • (i) a member of the licence holder’s family or, if the licence holder is a corporation, all of the shares of which belong to one individual, a member of that individual’s family, or

    • (ii) an inshore fishing corporation or an inshore fishing family trust. (société familiale de pêche côtière)

  inshore fishing corporation

  inshore fishing corporation means a corporation that meets the following conditions:

  • (a) 100% of its voting shares are held by a licence holder;

  • (b) the sole director is the licence holder or, if the licence holder is a corporation, all of the shares of which belong to one individual, that individual; and

  • (c) 100% of its non-voting shares, if any, are held by

    • (i) a member of the licence holder’s family or, if the licence holder is a corporation, all of the shares of which belong to one individual, a member of that individual’s family, or

    • (ii) an inshore fishing corporation or an inshore fishing family trust. (société de pêche côtière)

  inshore fishing family trust

  inshore fishing family trust means a trust

  • (a) that has as its sole trustee a licence holder or, if the licence holder is a corporation all of the shares of which belong to one individual, that individual; and

  • (b) for which each beneficiary must be either a member of the licence holder’s family or, if the licence holder is a corporation all of the shares of which belong to one individual, a member of that individual’s family or an inshore fishing company. (fiducie familiale de pêche côtière)

• (2) For the purposes of the definition family member, common-law partnership is to be read as a person who is cohabiting with a licence holder in a relationship of a conjugal nature and has done so for a period of at least one year.

Eligibility Criteria

18 This Part applies to the following licences:

• (a) an inshore fishing licence that is held by a licence holder that is identified as an independent core licence holder with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, except for a licence that indicates this Part does not apply, and the licence is to fish for

  • (i) groundfish by means of fixed gear and the use of a vessel having an overall length of at least 13.72 m (45 feet) but not more than 19.81 m (65 feet),

  • (ii) groundfish by means of mobile gear and the use of a vessel having an overall length of less than 19.81 m (65 feet),

  • (iii) herring by means of a purse seine,

  • (iv) scallops in respect of the Full Bay Fleet,

  • (v) shrimp by means of mobile gear in any of Shrimp Fishing Areas 13 to 15,

  • (vi) swordfish by means of a longline,

  • (vii) tuna, if it is a restricted licence and issued with a licence referred to in subparagraph (vi),

  • (viii) bluefin tuna, in respect of the southwest Nova Scotia fleet,

  • (ix) sculpin, if the licence is issued to a licence holder that also holds a licence referred to in subparagraph (ii),

  • (x) squid by means of jigger or handline and the licence is issued to a licence holder that also only holds a licence referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (ix),

  • (xi) squid by means of otter trawl and the licence is issued to a licence holder that also holds a licence referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii), (iv), (v), or (vii) to (ix) if an otter trawl is used as the means of fishing under that licence, or

  • (xii) squid by means of purse seine and the licence is issued to a licence holder that also holds a licence referred to in subparagraph (i) to (v), (vii), (viii) or (ix) if a purse seine is used as the means of fishing under that licence;

• (b) a coastal fishing licence, other than a licence to fish for herring or mackerel using fixed gear that is issued to a corporation with more than one shareholder;

• (c) an inshore fishing licence with “designated operator status” or “exploitant désigné” or an equivalent expression appearing on it and that is held by a licence holder referred to in paragraph (a);

• (d) an inshore fishing licence that is held by a licence holder that is identified as a head of a non-core enterprise with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada;

• (e) an inshore fishing licence with “designated operator status” or “exploitant désigné” or an equivalent expression appearing on it and that is held by a licence holder referred to in paragraph (d);

• (f) an inshore fishing licence held by an organization that has been issued an allocation of fish to catch for the benefit of its membership; and

• (g) an inshore fishing licence held by a corporation that held such a licence before January 19, 1989, unless

  • (i) “designated operator status” or “exploitant désigné” or an equivalent expression appears on the licence, or

  • (ii) the corporation held an inshore fishing licence before January 1, 1979.