Marine recreational fishing licence regime for
Eastern Canada
Consultations 2017
Introduction
• On May 19, 2017, it was announced that DFO is giving
consideration to implement a new marine recreational
licencing regime in Eastern Canada.
– It was also announced that consultations would take place with
Provincial representatives, Indigenous groups, anglers, charter
boat operators, and other stakeholders.
– Feedback is required to help fine-tune the proposal for a marine
recreational fishing licence: to identify gaps, and provide input
and local expertise going forward.
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Context
• The idea to introduce a marine recreational fishing licence
in order to improve stock assessments and to promote
sustainable management practices is not new:
– Between 2001-2005 pilot projects were undertaken for a marine
recreational licence regime (licences and tags) for groundfish in
various parts of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec
– Discussions were subsequently also held with various groups on
the benefits of such a licence; and, in 2016 consultations were
held in NL on a proposal to introduce a licence and tags
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Rationale
• The results of the pilot project and the past consultations
demonstrate that recreational fishing is very important to
the cultural life of local communities, and:
– There is general agreement that a licence would help improve
sustainability and stock assessments, but very little appetite for
tags, and concerns have been raised about fee levels.
– In the Pacific coast, where a marine licence already exists, it has
shown to benefit economic development, tourism, guard against
overfishing, and at times increased fishing opportunities.
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Proposal
• The timing is opportune as some stocks are recovering (ie.
cod in NL, striped bass in NB); and others require special
attention (ie. mackerel). The proposal therefore is that:
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There would be no requirement to purchase tags
There would be only one licence for the selected marine species
Initially the licence could be offered at no cost to anglers
It would have two categories: individual anglers/charter boats
Clients on charter boats would be covered by the boat licence
The annual licence would cover the period April 1 to March 31
It would be available online, with mandatory reporting of catch
Indigenous priority for food/social/ceremonial is unaffected
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Discussion
1. If a decision is made to eventually apply a fee to the proposed
licence, what should the fee entail in terms of categories of licences,
levels of fees, timing of implementation, etc.?
2. The licence would initially apply to groundfish, mackerel, and striped
bass (except in Quebec), are there other marine species that should
be included? Are there any concerns about mandatory reporting of
catch?
3. In the Pacific coast, the licence is issued online, what type support
would be needed for such a system in Eastern Canada? What
management conditions should be included on the licence?
4. Are there any other issues that should be considered?
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Next steps
• The consultations will be completed by July 31, 2017.
• The feedback from online submissions, consultations and public
meetings will be incorporated to develop options going forward.
• Contact information:
• Email at RecFish/[email protected]
• Mailing address: Recreational Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans
Canada, Station 13S038, 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON K1A-0E6
• Background information available at: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
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Annex: On-line system
• An online license issuance system for the marine
recreational fishery has been in use on the Pacific coast
(eg: British Columbia, Yukon) for several years.
– The system requests background data on the person requesting
the licence and then simply prints the licence.
– The system can be accessed from PCs at home or from public
facilities: libraries, community centers, stores, etc.
– Current users of the system have found it to be user-friendly; but
DFO would nonetheless provide user support.
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