Marine Mammal Regulations (SOR/93-56)

5 Subject to section 6, no person shall fish for marine mammals except under the authority of a licence issued under these Regulations or under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

• 6 (1) An Indian or Inuk other than a beneficiary may, without a licence, fish for food, social or ceremonial purposes for

  • (a) seals;

  • (b) cetaceans, except beluga in the areas described in column I of items 1 to 7 of Schedule II, bowhead whales, right whales and narwhal; and

  • (c) subject to section 26, four walrus in a year.

• (2) A beneficiary may, without a licence, fish for food, social or ceremonial purposes within the area covered by the agreement under which the beneficiary is enrolled for

  • (a) seals;

  • (b) cetaceans, except beluga in the areas described in column I of items 1 to 7 of Schedule II, bowhead whales, right whales and narwhal; and

  • (c) subject to section 26, four walrus in a year.

• (3) A person, other than a person referred to in subsection (1) or (2), who resides immediately adjacent to any of Sealing Areas 1 to 4 may fish for seals without a licence in any of those Sealing Areas for food purposes.

Prohibitions

• 7 (1) No person shall disturb a marine mammal except

  • (a) when carrying on a work, undertaking or activity that is authorized, otherwise permitted or required under the Act;

  • (b) when fishing for marine mammals under the authority of these Regulations;

  • (c) in the manner set out in a licence issued under the Fishery (General) Regulations authorizing them to fish for marine mammals for experimental, scientific, educational or public display purposes; or

  • (d) in the manner authorized under the Species at Risk Act.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), disturb includes to approach the marine mammal to, or to attempt to,

  • (a) feed it;

  • (b) swim with it or interact with it;

  • (c) move it or entice or cause it to move from the immediate vicinity in which it is found;

  • (d) separate it from members of its group or go between it and a calf;

  • (e) trap it or its group between a vessel and the shore or between a vessel and one or more other vessels; or

  • (f) tag or mark it.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), in the case of a marine mammal that is of a species set out in column 1 of Schedule VI, disturb also includes to approach the marine mammal with a vehicle of the type set out in column 2 within the approach distance set out in column 3 in the area set out in column 4 during the period set out in column 5.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection (1), in the case of a whale, dolphin or porpoise in resting position or with its calf, disturb also includes to approach the whale, dolphin or porpoise with a vehicle of the type set out in column 2 of Schedule VI, at an approach distance of less than 200 m in all Canadian fisheries waters from January 1 to December 31.

• (5) The requirement to respect the approach distances set out in Schedule VI and in subsection (4) does not apply to

  • (a) a vessel that is in transit; or

  • (b) the holder of a seal fishery observation licence who is observing the seal fishery.

7.1 The prohibition set out in section 7 does not apply to

• (a) employees of the Department who are performing their duties or functions or persons who are assisting them or who are otherwise present at the request of the Department; or

• (b) employees of the Parks Canada Agency or the Department of National Defence, members of the Canadian Forces and peace officers, while they are performing their duties or functions.

• 7.2 (1) When an aircraft is being operated at an altitude of less than 304.8 m (1,000 ft.) within a radius of one-half nautical mile from a marine mammal, no person shall perform a flight manoeuvre — including taking off, landing or altering the course or altitude of the aircraft — for the purpose of bringing the aircraft closer to the marine mammal or otherwise disturbing it.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply

  • (a) to the holder of a licence that is issued under the Fishery (General) Regulations and that authorizes fishing for marine mammals for experimental, scientific, educational or public display purposes, when the holder is conducting activities authorized by the licence;

  • (b) to employees of the Department who are performing their duties or functions or person who are assisting them or who are otherwise present at the request of the Department;

  • (c) to employees of the Parks Canada Agency or the Department of National Defence, members of the Canadian Forces and peace officers, who are performing their duties or functions;

  • (d) to a commercial flight that is operating on a scheduled flight plan; or

  • (e) to a helicopter that is being used for seal pup observation on the ice of the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, if it maintains a distance of at least two metres from the seal pups.

• (3) Despite subsection (1), the holder of a seal fishery observation licence is permitted to take off or land an aircraft within a radius of one-half nautical mile from a marine mammal for the purpose of conducting activities authorized by the licence.

8 No person shall attempt to kill a marine mammal except in a manner that is designed to kill it quickly.

9 No person shall fish for a marine mammal without having on hand the equipment that is necessary to retrieve it.

• 10 (1) No person who kills or wounds a marine mammal shall

  • (a) fail to make a reasonable effort to retrieve it without delay; or

  • (b) subject to section 33.1, abandon or discard it.

• (2) No person who kills a cetacean or walrus shall waste any edible part of it.

11 [Repealed, SOR/2018-126, s. 7]

Notice that Fishing Quota has been Reached

12 Where an annual fishing quota fixed by these Regulations has been reached, a fishery officer shall notify the persons affected or likely to be affected by one or more of the methods set out in subsection 7(1) of the Fishery (General) Regulations.

Sale and Transportation

• 13 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall buy, sell, trade or barter the edible parts of a cetacean or walrus.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of buying, selling, trading or bartering by

  • (a) an Indian or Inuk, other than a beneficiary, within the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Quebec or Newfoundland and Labrador; or

  • (b) a beneficiary, if the purchase, sale, trade or barter is carried out in accordance with the terms of the agreement under which the beneficiary is enrolled.

14 No person shall buy, sell, trade, barter or possess a narwhal tusk unless the licence under the authority of which the narwhal was taken is attached to the tusk.

15 The Minister shall, on application, issue a marine mammal transportation licence

• (a) authorizing a person to take or carry edible marine mammal parts from one province to another for the personal use of that person or the members of that person’s family;

• (b) in respect of non-edible marine mammal parts; or

• (c) in respect of any marine mammal or marine mammal parts to be used for experimental, scientific, educational or public display purposes.