Marine Mammal Regulations (SOR/93-56)

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.

• 16 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall take or carry marine mammals or marine mammal parts from one province to another except under the authority of a marine mammal transportation licence issued by the Minister.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply

  • (a) to a person who fishes for marine mammals in one province and resides in another province and who is taking or carrying his catch to his place of residence;

  • (b) in respect of seals or seal parts taken from any of Sealing Areas 4 to 33; or

  • (c) to a beneficiary who is transporting any marine mammal or marine mammal parts in accordance with the Agreement referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition beneficiary.

Records and Reporting

• 17 (1) Every person who is authorized under these Regulations to fish for cetaceans or walrus shall keep a record for a period of two years of any cetacean or walrus taken and shall produce that record for examination when requested to do so by a fishery officer.

• (2) The record referred to in subsection (1) shall contain the time and place at which the cetacean or walrus was taken and the species, sex and colour of the cetacean or walrus.

PART IICetaceans

General

17.1 In this Part, strike means to wound a cetacean but be unable to retrieve it from the water.

18 No person shall fish for a beluga calf, bowhead calf or narwhal calf or for an adult beluga, bowhead whale or narwhal that is accompanied by a calf.

19 No person shall fish for cetaceans with a firearm unless the person uses

• (a) a rifle and bullets that are not full metal-jacketed that produce a muzzle energy of not less than 1,500 foot pounds; or

• (b) a shotgun and rifled slugs that produce a muzzle energy of not less than 1,500 foot pounds.

Beluga

20 No person shall fish for beluga in the St. Lawrence River, the Saguenay River or any of their tributaries or in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

21 No person shall fish for beluga in an area described in column I of an item of Schedule II

• (a) during the close time set out in column II of that item; or

• (b) after notice has been given by a fishery officer that the annual fishing quota set out in column III of that item has been reached.

Bowhead Whales

22 No person shall fish for bowhead whales in the waters described in column I of an item of the table to this section

• (a) during the close time set out in column II of that item; or

• (b) after notice has been given by a fishery officer that the annual fishing quota set out in column III of that item has been reached.

  Item	Column I	Column II	Column III
  	Waters	Close Time	Annual Fishing Quota
  1	The waters of the Beaufort Sea adjacent to the coasts of the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories that are enclosed by the coastline and straight lines joining the following points, in the order in which they are listed: Point North Latitude West Longitude 1 69°26′N. 139°00′W. 2 69°30′N. 139°00′W. 3 69°30′N. 136°18′W. 4 69°00′N. 136°18′W. 5 69°00′N. 137°28′W.	Apr. 1 to Dec. 31	Strike 2 or take 1, whichever occurs first
  2	[Repealed, SOR/2008-99, s. 12]

Narwhal

23 No person who ordinarily resides in a settlement set out in column I of an item of the table to this section shall fish for narwhal after notice has been given by a fishery officer that the annual fishing quota set out in column II of that item has been reached.