Fishery (General) Regulations (SOR/93-53)

Fishing in or Near Government Facilities

• 37 (1) Unless authorized under the Act, these Regulations or any of the Regulations listed in subsection 3(4), no person shall fish in or remove fish from a fish hatchery, fish rearing establishment, fish holding facility or fish collection facility operated by the Department.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall fish within a 100 m radius of any facility operated by or on behalf of the Department, the Province of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon Territory or the Northwest Territories for the purpose of the counting, passage or rearing of fish.

• (3) A fishery officer may determine, taking into account the configuration of the waters, the amount of water flow and any other relevant circumstances, that the distance set out in subsection (2) is longer than required to protect fish, and may shorten the distance by placing a sign or signs, as may be appropriate, to delimit the shorter distance.

• (4) Where a sign has been placed under subsection (3), no person shall fish between that sign and any facility referred to in subsection (2).

Authorization to Place Nets in Waters for Cleaning

• 38 (1) Notwithstanding section 25 of the Act, a fishery officer may, in writing, authorize a person to place a net in waters closed to fishing with that net for the purposes of cleaning the net.

• (2) An authorization given under subsection (1) shall specify the location at which the net may be placed, the manner in which the net may be placed and the period of time for which the authorization is valid.

PART VObservers

Designation and Duties

• 39 (1) The Regional Director-General may designate as an observer any individual who is qualified and trained to perform any of the duties described in subsection (2) and who

  • (a) does not hold a fisher’s registration card or a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate;

  • (b) does not purchase fish for the purpose of resale; and

  • (c) is not an owner, operator, manager or employee of an enterprise that catches, cultures, processes or transports fish.

• (2) The Regional Director-General shall assign to an observer designated under subsection (1) one or more of the following duties:

  • (a) the monitoring of fishing activities, the examination and measurement of fishing gear, the recording of scientific data and observations and the taking of samples;

  • (b) the monitoring of the landing of fish and the verification of the weight and species of fish caught and retained; and

  • (c) conducting biological examination and sampling of fish.

• (2.1) An observer designated under subsection (1) shall transmit in a timely manner to the Department or to a corporation designated under subsection 39.1(1), as the case may be, the information collected and compiled in the course of their duties under subsection 39(2).

• (3) An observer who is assigned the duties set out in paragraph (2)(a) shall perform those duties while on board a fishing vessel or in an aquaculture facility.

• (4) An observer who is assigned the duties set out in paragraph (2)(b) shall perform those duties while at a fish landing station or in an aquaculture facility.

• (5) An observer who is assigned the duties set out in paragraph (2)(c) shall perform those duties while on board a fishing vessel, at a fish landing station or in an aquaculture facility.

• (6) The Regional Director-General may revoke the designation of an observer designated under subsection (1) if the observer

  • (a) no longer complies with the criteria set out in that subsection;

  • (b) performs his or her duties in respect of a fisher with whom the observer is not dealing at arm’s length;

  • (c) falsifies any information transmitted in the course of his or her duties or fails to perform those duties; or

  • (d) fails to perform his or her duties in a competent and professional manner.

• 39.1 (1) The Regional Director-General may designate as an observer any corporation that has submitted

  • (a) a description of a program that is capable of accurately collecting and compiling information obtained by individual observers in the course of their duties under subsection 39(2) and that includes

    • (i) a business plan for the corporation that describes the organization of the corporation, its human resources and its plan of operations,

    • (ii) a plan for the training and independent examination of individuals who will be designated as observers to perform the duties described in subsection 39(2), and for the supervision of those observers, and

    • (iii) a quality control system for ensuring the integrity of the information collected and compiled that identifies a person responsible for the system and his or her duties, and that describes the operation of the system, the manner in which records are kept, the control points, the verification procedures and the process for correcting deficiencies in the system;

  • (b) a statement that discloses all conflicts of interest that the corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees, or any shareholder having a significant interest in the corporation may have with the fishing industry, and that explains how those conflicts are to be resolved; and

  • (c) evidence of the corporation’s financial viability, or a performance bond guaranteeing three months of operation.

• (2) An observer designated under subsection (1) has the following duties:

  • (a) to comply with the program submitted under paragraph (1)(a);

  • (b) to transmit to the Department, in a timely manner, the information collected and compiled as part of the program;

  • (c) to disclose all conflicts of interest that arise after the observer’s designation and explain how they are to be resolved; and

  • (d) to resolve any conflicts of interest disclosed under paragraph (c) or paragraph (1)(b).

• (3) The Regional Director-General may revoke the designation of an observer designated under subsection (1) if the observer

  • (a) falsifies any information transmitted in the course of its duties or fails to perform those duties; or

  • (b) fails to maintain the performance bond submitted under paragraph (1)(c).

39.2 The designation of an observer is valid for

• (a) six months for the first designation and 36 months for any subsequent designation, in the case of an individual; and

• (b) 12 months for the first and second designations and 24 months for any subsequent designation, in the case of a corporation.

• 39.3 (1) No person shall submit false information to the Regional Director-General for the purpose of obtaining their designation as an observer.

• (2) No observer shall provide false information in the course of their duties.

Certificate of Designation

• 40 (1) The Regional Director-General shall provide each observer with a certificate that certifies the observer’s designation as such and specifies the duties that have been assigned to the observer.

• (2) An observer shall, on entering any place to perform the observer’s duties, on request, show the certificate of designation to the person in charge of the place.

PART VIAssisting Persons Engaged in the Enforcement or Administration of the Act

Interpretation

41 In this Part,

fisheries patrol-boat pennant

fisheries patrol-boat pennant means a pennant in the shape set out in Part I of Schedule II and the colours set out in Parts I and II of Schedule II, the crest of which has the details set out in Part II of Schedule II; (fanion de patrouilleur des pêches)

inspection pennant

inspection pennant means a pennant in the shape, size and colours set out in Schedule III; (fanion d’inspection)

inspector

inspector means a person named by a contracting party set out in Schedule IV to carry out inspections in the Regulatory Area in accordance with the scheme of joint international enforcement established pursuant to Article XVIII of the Convention of Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries that was ratified by Canada on November 30, 1978 and came into force on January 1, 1979, and who is in possession of an identification card issued by that contracting party in the form set out in Schedule V; (inspecteur)

International Code of Signals

International Code of Signals means the International Code of Signals published by Transport Canada; (Code international de signaux)

Signal L

Signal L means the signal prescribed in the International Code of Signals to mean You should stop your vessel instantly; (signal L)

Signal SQ 1

Signal SQ 1 means the signal prescribed in the International Code of Signals to mean You should stop or heave to, otherwise I shall open fire on you; (signal SQ 1)

Signal SQ 3

Signal SQ 3 means the signal prescribed in the International Code of Signals to mean You should stop, or heave to; I am going to board you. (signal SQ 3)

Flying of Pennants

• 42 (1) The flying of a fisheries patrol-boat pennant on a vessel identifies that vessel as a vessel with a fishery officer or fishery guardian on board.

• (2) The flying of an inspection pennant on a vessel identifies that vessel as a vessel with an inspector on board.

Signalling

• 43 (1) Where a fishery officer or fishery guardian sends the Signal L, the Signal SQ 1 or the Signal SQ 3 to a vessel by any of the methods set out in subsection (2), the master of the vessel shall immediately comply with the direction of that signal.

• (2) The following methods of signalling may be used to send signals to vessels:

  • (a) flag signalling using alphabetical flags;

  • (b) flashing light signalling using Morse symbols;

  • (c) sound signalling using Morse symbols;

  • (d) Morse signalling using hand-flags or arms;

  • (e) voice with or without using loud hailer;

  • (f) radiotelegraphy; and

  • (g) radiotelephony.

• (3) Where any signal referred to in subsection (1) has been sent to a vessel, no person on board that vessel shall dump or throw anything overboard from that vessel until the fishery officer or fishery guardian who sent the signal indicates to the master of the vessel that the vessel may proceed.

Assisting Fishery Officer and Fishery Guardian

44 The master of a fishing vessel shall provide all reasonable assistance to a fishery officer or fishery guardian, including

• (a) making the fishing gear used on or from the vessel available for inspection and for that purpose hauling in such gear and thawing the nets, where necessary;

• (b) permitting the taking of photographs of the fisheries operations, including fishing gear and equipment; and

• (c) where the fishery officer or fishery guardian is on board for more than four consecutive hours, providing food and accommodation equivalent to that provided to officers of the vessel.

Assisting Inspector

• 45 (1) Where an inspector sends the Signal L or the Signal SQ 3 by any of the methods set out in subsection 43(2) to a fishing vessel operating in the Regulatory Area, the master of the vessel shall immediately comply with the direction of that signal.

• (2) The master of a fishing vessel operating in the Regulatory Area shall

  • (a) at the request of an inspector, permit the inspector to board the vessel; and

  • (b) provide the inspector with all reasonable assistance necessary to enable the inspector to carry out an inspection of the fishing operations, including

    • (i) making the fishing gear used on or from the vessel available for inspection and for that purpose hauling in such gear and thawing the nets, where necessary,

    • (ii) permitting the taking of photographs of the fisheries operations, including fishing gear and equipment, and

    • (iii) where the inspector is on board for more than four consecutive hours, providing food and accommodation equivalent to that provided to officers of the vessel.

• (2.1) Where an inspector sends the Signal SQ 3 to a fishing vessel, no person on board that vessel shall retrieve any gear from the water for the period of 30 minutes after the signal is sent.

• (3) Where, during an inspection in the Regulatory Area, an inspector finds any fishing gear or equipment the use or possession of which is contrary to the Act, the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 or these Regulations, the inspector may place a mark or seal on that fishing gear or equipment in a manner that will preserve the identity of the gear or equipment.

• (4) No person other than a fishery officer shall remove a mark or seal placed on any fishing gear or equipment in accordance with subsection (3).

• (5) Where a mark or seal has been placed on any fishing gear or equipment in accordance with subsection (3), no person shall

  • (a) alter or tamper with that mark or seal; or

  • (b) use, destroy or dispose of that fishing gear or equipment unless the mark or seal has been removed by a fishery officer.