Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations (SOR/93-55)

Possession Limits

• 17 (1) No person shall possess at any time more salmon taken by angling in accordance with these Regulations than the applicable yearly fishing quota for salmon prescribed by these Regulations.

• (2) No person shall possess at any time more fish of a species taken by recreational fishing in accordance with these Regulations, except for salmon, than the applicable daily fishing quota for that species prescribed by these Regulations.

General Bait Provisions

18 No person shall use as bait, or possess for use as bait, in a province any

• (a) live or dead

  • (i) bass, bullhead, sunfish, white perch, yellow perch or other spiny fin-rayed fish,

  • (ii) goldfish or other carp, or

  • (iii) chain pickerel; or

• (b) live fish that was not taken in that province.

Bait Provisions Specific to New Brunswick

• 19 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall use as bait or possess for use as bait in the inland waters of New Brunswick any live fish.

• (2) A person may use live fish for bait, or possess live fish for use as bait, in a body of water set out in section 116 if the fish was taken from that body of water and it is not a species of fish set out in paragraph 18(a).

Gear Restrictions

20 No person shall fish for any species of fish in the waters set out in column I of an item of Schedule III by a method set out in column II of that item during the close time set out in column III of that item.

21 Every person who fishes with a gill net shall set it in a straight line.

22 No person in a province shall, without lawful excuse, possess any fishing net other than a dip net.

• 23 (1) No person shall possess in inland waters or within 15 m of inland waters a jigging device or spear.

• (2) No person shall possess in inland waters or within 15 m of inland waters a snare or bow and arrow unless the person is lawfully hunting or trapping under the laws of a province.

24 Every person who is fishing for gaspereau or shad with a gill net, trap net or weir shall, during the applicable weekly close time for those fish set out in Schedules V and VIII, respectively,

• (a) remove the gill net from the water; and

• (b) render the trap net or weir incapable of catching fish.

25 No person shall fish with a weir constructed in tidal waters that goes dry at low tide unless

• (a) the weir contains escape gates for the release of fish; and

• (b) the person opens the escape gates before each low tide and releases any incidental catch of fish.

Spacing of Fishing Gear

26 Except as otherwise provided as a condition of a licence, no person shall

• (a) fish for gaspereau in the Gaspereau River, Kings County, Nova Scotia, with

  • (i) a dip net within 90 m of a square net,

  • (ii) a square net within 60 m of any other square net, or

  • (iii) a square net within 60 m of a dam;

• (b) fish for smelt or tomcod in waters other than the Miramichi River or Miramichi Bay with a bag net, trap net or gill net within

  • (i) 45 m of any other bag net, trap net or gill net, or

  • (ii) 90 m upstream or downstream of any other bag net, trap net or gill net;

• (c) fish for smelt or tomcod in the Miramichi River or Miramichi Bay with a bag net, trap net or gill net within

  • (i) 90 m of any other bag net, trap net or gill net, or

  • (ii) 180 m upstream or downstream of any other bag net, trap net or gill net;

• (d) fish for smelt or tomcod with a bag net, trap net or gill net within 90 m of a bridge; or

• (e) in any case not provided for in paragraphs (a) to (d), fish with or set any fishing gear, other than angling gear, a dip net, a minnow trap or a spear, within 200 m of any fishing gear previously set.

Tending of Fishing Gear

27 No person shall leave fishing gear unattended in the water for more than 72 consecutive hours.

Temporary Shelters on Ice

• 28 (1) No person shall, in the provinces of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, place a shack or temporary shelter on the ice over any waters, unless the name and address of the owner is painted on or otherwise affixed to the shack or temporary shelter.

• (2) The letters and numerals forming the name and address of the owner of a shack or temporary shelter referred to in subsection (1) shall be

  • (a) legible;

  • (b) not less than 50 mm in height; and

  • (c) in a colour that contrasts with their background.

• (3) No person shall place a shack or temporary shelter on the ice before January 1 in any waters set out in section 116 or Schedule IX.

• (4) Every shack or temporary shelter placed on the ice shall be removed by the owner by midnight on April 2, in any year, or, depending on ice conditions, by the earlier or later date as may be specified by a fishery officer.

Taking Shellfish for Replanting

29 Notwithstanding any close time or size limit set out in these Regulations, a person may, under the authority of a shellfish replanting licence, fish for shellfish for the purpose of relocating them to improve their growth, condition or accessibility.

PART I.1Inshore and Coastal Licences

Interpretation

• 29.01 (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

29.1 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;

• (b) a coastal fishing licence, other than a commercial fishing licence to fish for elver;

• (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.

• 29.2 (1) A licence referred to in paragraphs 29.1(a) to (f) may only be issued to

  • (a) an individual or their estate or succession;

  • (b) a corporation, all of the shares of which belong to one individual; or

  • (c) an organization referred to in paragraph 29.1(f).

• (2) In the case of a licence referred to in paragraph 29.1(a), (b), (d) or (g), the activities authorized under the licence must be carried out personally by the licence holder, the operator named in the licence or a person authorized in accordance with subsection 23(2) of the Fishery (General) Regulations.

• (3) A licence referred to in paragraph 29.1(a) or (c) shall not be issued if, at the time of application, the applicant has transferred the use or control of the rights or privileges conferred under the licence for which the applicant is the licence holder or was the licence holder in the 12 months prior to the application or conferred under a licence that may be issued to the applicant.

• (4) A licence holder that has been denied the issuance of a licence under subsection (3) or has had a licence cancelled under paragraph 9(1)(b) of the Act and did not resolve the matter that gave rise to the denial, suspension or cancellation within 12 months of the day on which the licence was denied, suspended or cancelled is never eligible to hold the same type of licence again.

• (5) Subsection (3) does not apply in the following circumstances:

  • (a) the licence is offered as security in a financial agreement under provincial legislation;

  • (b) in the case referred to in paragraph (a), a creditor that is a recognized financial institution uses or controls the rights or privileges under the licence in order to exercise its rights with respect to a security;

  • (c) in the case referred to in paragraph (a), a creditor that is not a recognized financial institution, uses the privilege under the licence to recommend to the Minister the next licence holder or the reallocation of fishing quota, in order to exercise its rights with respect to a security;

  • (d) a trustee or receiver appointed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act uses or controls rights or privileges conferred by the licence;

  • (e) all or part of the rights of the proceeds from the sale of the catch are transferred to any person on the vessel who is participating in making the catch;

  • (f) in the case of an applicant that is a licence holder, the rights and privileges under that licence or the rights and privileges to be granted if the application is accepted have been transferred to an inshore family fishing corporation of which the applicant holds 100% of the voting shares;

  • (g) in the case of an applicant that is not a licence holder, the rights and privileges that are granted under the licence if the application is accepted have been transferred to a corporation that would be an inshore family fishing corporation of which the applicant holds 100% of the voting shares if the licence was issued;

  • (h) with the authorization of the Minister, the licence holder transfers the rights or privileges under the licence in order to give effect to the following arrangements made with other holders of the licences referred to in any of paragraphs 29.1(a) to (g):

    • (i) an arrangement for the reallocation of a fishing quota, or

    • (ii) an arrangement for the reallocation of authorized fishing gear;

  • (i) an organization referred to in paragraph 29.1(f) has required the licence holder to provide part of the proceeds from the sale of the catch back to the organization in exchange for additional fish allocation;

  • (j) a liquidator of the succession, an executor or an administrator of the estate appointed upon the death of the licence holder uses or controls the rights or privileges under the licence;

  • (k) a person is authorized to act on behalf of the licence holder in the case of their incapacity, including a guardian, committee, Public Guardian and Trustee, tutor, curator, Public Curator, mandatary under a protection mandate or any other person who is appointed to act in a similar capacity; or

  • (l) a person has received an authorization in accordance with subsection 23(2) of the Fishery (General) Regulations with respect to the licence.