Canada’s fishing policies are shaped by a complex web of legislation, regulations, and agreements designed to balance the economic, cultural, and environmental significance of the country’s fisheries. Governed primarily under the Fisheries Act , these policies aim to ensure sustainable fish stocks while supporting the livelihoods of coastal communities, many of whom depend on fishing as a way of life. Additional frameworks, such as the Oceans Act ****and various Indigenous treaties, reflect the need to respect conservation goals, marine biodiversity, and the traditional fishing rights of Indigenous peoples. (To learn more about Canada’s legal history with Indigenous peoples and fishing rights check out Fishing from Time Immemorial for an overview of important legal cases and Indigenous cultures surrounding fishing! ) International agreements, including Canada’s participation in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), further influence domestic policies by regulating fishing practices in international waters. Together, these policies represent a careful balancing act, seeking to protect marine ecosystems while addressing the economic, cultural, and legal dimensions of fishing in Canada.
Photo of a Fishing Vessel in British Columbia taken by Flip Nicken/Minden Pictures
Fishing legislation in Canada is managed through a collaboration of federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments, each with distinct responsibilities. The federal government, primarily through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), oversees the conservation and management of marine fisheries and coastal ecosystems under various laws and acts. Provincial and territorial governments regulate inland fisheries, aquaculture(fish farming and breeding), and fishing activities within their jurisdiction, including freshwater lakes and rivers.
Indigenous governments and organizations ****play a critical role in managing fisheries through co-management agreements, treaties, and the recognition of constitutionally protected fishing rights, particularly for sustenance and ceremonial purposes. This multi-level governance ensures a comprehensive approach to managing Canada’s diverse fisheries, though it often requires negotiation and coordination between jurisdictions. Below is a graph detailing some of the jurisdictional differences between the Federal government and the provinces/ territories. This is a list of common sectors of fishing legislation, please note that this list is NOT exhaustive.
| Coastal Fisheries (Tidal) | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government) |
|---|---|
| Recreational Lake Fishing | Provincial/territorial Government |
| Ocean Ecosystem Management | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government) |
| Endangered Species revitalization plans | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government) |
| Lake Ecosystem Management | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government) |
| Ocean Commercial Fisheries | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government |
| Lake Commercial Fisheries | Provincial/territorial Governments |
| Land fixtures of Fisheries | Provincial/territorial Governments |
| Habitat Protection | Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Federal Government) |
| Water Quality Management | Environment and Climate Change Canada (Federal government) |
| Fishing Licensing | Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal Government managing through the provinces and territories) |
One of Canada’s most influential policies regarding fishing management is the Fisheries Act of 1985. The Fisheries Act is a hugely important part of Canadian legislation that governs the management and protection of fish, fish habitats, and fisheries. It ensures the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems by regulating fishing practices, prohibiting harmful activities that damage fish habitats, and protecting biodiversity through marine refuges and habitat restoration initiatives. The Act also promotes responsible fisheries management, supports reconciliation with Indigenous peoples by recognizing their rights and roles in decision-making, and incorporates principles like sustainability and ecosystem-based management into policy and regulatory frameworks.
The fisheries act has also faced a substantial amount of criticism and a lot of changes have been made since its ratification to better serve Canadians and Indigenous communities while protecting our oceans. In 2012, changes to the Fisheries Act made it harder to protect fish and their habitats (due to lack of legislative framework permitting the creation of protective areas), raising concerns across Canada. Indigenous peoples, industry leaders, and environmental groups all voiced their frustration, not just with the changes themselves but with the rash ratification and lack of consultation beforehand.
Blue Gill fish caught on Rideau Lake Ontario by Ashley Rae
10 year old Koby Rice catches 44 pound Codfish in Norte Dame Bay Newfoundland
In response, the Government of Canada committed to reviewing these amendments to restore protections, improve safeguards, and ensure long-term sustainability for marine resources. The national debate that came out of the 2012 fisheries act update was challenging, where both environmentalists groups and commercial fishing companies went head to head to fight over fishing protections. One of the most controversial changes that was debated in the 2012 revision was the switch from protecting fish generally, to specific provisions protecting fish that were essential to Indigenous ceremonial and cultural practices as while as the fish targeted by most commercial fishing operations. Many groups viewed this legislative change as a way to control Indigenous cultural practices and harm the working class, rather than actual environmental protections. To read more about the problems with the fisheries act pre 2012, and the 2012 revision, check out the Ontario Bar Association.
The updated Fisheries Act brings important improvements. It restores protections for all fish and their habitats and reinstates rules against activities that harm fish habitats. The Act also emphasizes sustainability, ecosystem management, and the precautionary principle to guide decision-making. It strengthens the role of Indigenous peoples in reviewing projects and shaping policy, helping to advance reconciliation. Other updates include restoring degraded/polluted habitats, rebuilding declining fish populations, and introducing clearer rules for managing projects that impact fish and habitats. Additionally, the Act protects biodiversity by enhancing marine refuges, banning the cruel practice of shark finning, and regulating the trade of detached shark fins. It also phases out keeping whales and other cetaceans in captivity for display, allowing exceptions only for rescue and rehabilitation effectively shutting down businesses with severe animal rights concerns, such as Marine Land. These changes reflect a renewed commitment to protecting Canada’s fisheries, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.
The Canadian government did work to address some of the major concerns that arose from the 2012 revision. The 2018 revision of the fisheries act was proposed through bill c-68 and addressed many of the concerns Canadians had voiced in 2012. Below is a guide taken from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans Website to review some of the monumental changes made in 2018:
| Before Bill C-68 | New Fisheries Act |
|---|---|
| No explicit reference to consideration of the rights of Indigenous peoples and their unique knowledge to inform decision making | Provided Indigenous traditional knowledge must inform habitat decisions Requirement to consider adverse effects of decisions on the rights of Indigenous peoplesProtection for Indigenous knowledge when provided in confidence to the Minister |
| Ability to enter into certain agreements restricted to provinces and territories only | Added ability to enter into agreements with Indigenous governing bodies and any body established under a land claims agreement, as well as provinces and territories |
| No specific provisions regarding the independence of inshore licence holders | Provisions recognizing social, economic and cultural factors, as well as the preservation or promotion of the independence of licence holders in commercial inshore fisheries, can be taken into consideration in decision-making providing clear regulatory authorities to support independent inshore licence holders |
| No tools to quickly implement in-season fisheries restrictions to address unforeseen conservation and management issues | Ability to put in place targeted short-term measures to quickly and effectively respond to unforeseen threats to the management of fisheries and to the conservation of fish |
| Uncertainty as to when authorizations are required for development projects | Ability to develop codes of practice and regulations that clarify when projects require authorizations |
| Lack of transparency regarding authorization decisions for projects. No requirement to publicly release information on these decisions | Requirement to publicly release information on project decisions through an online registry. This requirement will formally come into force in 2020 |
| No provisions specifically designed to protect marine biodiversity | Ability to create long-term area-based restrictions on fishing activities to protect marine biodiversity |
| No specific provisions to address whales in captivity | A prohibition on fishing for cetaceans (such as whales) with the intent to take them into captivity unless authorized by the Minister in circumstances where the animal is injured, in distress or in need of care |
| No specific provisions banning shark finning | Clear prohibitions against the import and export, or attempted import or export of shark fins that are not naturally attached to the carcass |
| No legal requirements related to rebuilding fish stocks | The Minister must implement measures to maintain major fish stocks listed in regulation at levels needed to promote sustainability, and must develop and implement rebuilding plans for major stocks listed in regulation that are depleted Authority to develop regulations respecting the rebuilding of fish stocks |
| No ability to address Fisheries Act offences outside of courts | Ability to address Fisheries Act offences outside of courts using alternative measures agreements, which reduces costs and repeat offences |
| No provisions providing for the consideration of restoring degraded habitat as part of decision-making | Provisions to consider restoration priorities as part of decision-making, including within Ecologically Significant Areas |
| Limited authority and flexibility to establish and protect fish and fish habitats within an Ecologically Significant Area | Clearer, stronger and easier rules to establish and manage Ecologically Significant Areas, to provide for more robust protections for sensitive, unique, or otherwise important fish habitats |
| Use of an administrative, policy-based approach to provide for proponent-led fish and fish habitat banking | Legal framework established to enshrine this policy approach into law to provide for and encourage the use of habitat banks for offsetting fish and fish habitat losses resulting from projects |
| Ability to set out the water flows needed for fish and fish habitat protection downstream of existing obstructions can only be set out in Ministerial orders | Expanded ability to manage water flows from obstructions through Ministerial regulations |
| No specific authority to make changes to fish or fish habitat authorizations, once issued | Ability to amend, suspend or cancel authorizations to provide for greater flexibility and reactionary decision-making based off populations. |
The Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act are both pieces of Canadian legislation that relate to the management of Canada's oceans and fisheries, but they have different purposes:
The Ocean Act at its core, though different than the Fisheries Act, is designed to protect and regulate fishing. However, the Ocean Act’s priority is focused on environmental protections and ratifications of various elements of the UN Conventions of the Law of the Seas. While the Fisheries Act is environmentally conscious, its main purpose is to regulate commercial fishing and resource extraction that comes along with Canada’s national and international fishing economies. The Oceans Act’s primary focus is giving the Department of Fisheries and Oceans exclusive ability to enact emergency legislation in response to various environmental concerns. This act gives the minister the ability to freeze fishing operations in certain areas temporarily concerning declining fishing populations or destroyed habitats, as well as the authority to create marine protected areas which put significant restrictions on human activity in the area.
In summary, the Oceans Act’s only goal is to maintain ocean environments and fish populations. It achieves this by attempting to minimize ecological deterioration that comes from human pollution and damaging fishing practices.
To learn more about the Ocean’s Act’s effect on our ecosystems visit West Coast Environmental Law’s overview
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DID YOU KNOW: There is only ONE coral reef in Canadian waters? It is called the Lophelia Reef also known by its Wakashan name q̓áuc̓íwísuxv. It lies some 200 m underwater in the Finlayson Channel, British Columbia, Canada.
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