Fisheries Act

Marginal note:Regulations

• 43 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act and in particular, but without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

  • (a) respecting the proper management and control of the seacoast and inland fisheries, including for social, economic or cultural purposes;

  • (b) respecting the conservation and protection of fish;

  • (b.1) respecting the rebuilding of fish stocks;

  • (b.2) respecting the restoration of fish habitat;

  • (c) respecting the catching, loading, landing, handling, transporting, possession and disposal of fish;

  • (d) respecting the operation of fishing vessels;

  • (d.1) respecting the circumstances when the holder of a licence or the operator named in the licence is required to personally carry on the activity authorized by the licence and the exceptions to that requirement;

  • (e) respecting the use of fishing gear and equipment;

  • (e.1) respecting the marking, identification and tracking of fishing vessels;

  • (e.2) respecting the designation of persons as observers, their duties and their carriage on board fishing vessels;

  • (f) respecting the issuance, suspension and cancellation of licences and leases, including

    • (i) if the lease or licence holder or the applicant for that lease or licence is a party to an agreement in respect of the lease or licence that contravenes any provision of this Act or of the regulations, or

    • (ii) if the applicant for the lease or licence is a corporation;

  • (g) respecting the terms and conditions under which a licence and lease may be issued;

  • (g.01) respecting the use and control of the rights and privileges under a lease or licence issued under this Act, including the prohibition on the transfer of the use and control of those rights and privileges except under prescribed conditions;

  • (g.02) in the case of a licence issued to an organization, respecting the designation of persons who may fish and the fishing vessels that may be used under the licence and any other matter relating to designations, including the method of designation and who may designate those persons and vessels;

  • (g.1) respecting any records, books of account or other documents to be kept under this Act and the manner and form in which and the period for which they shall be kept;

  • (g.2) respecting the manner in which records, books of account or other documents shall be produced and information shall be provided under this Act;

  • (h) respecting the obstruction and pollution of any waters frequented by fish;

  • (i) respecting the conservation and protection of spawning grounds;

  • (i.01) excluding fisheries from the definitions Indigenous, commercial and recreational;

  • (i.1) for the purposes of paragraph 35(2)(a), prescribing anything that is authorized to be prescribed;

  • (i.2) respecting applications for the authorizations referred to in paragraph 35(2)(b) or (c);

  • (i.3) prescribing the conditions under which and requirements subject to which persons or entities referred to in paragraph 35(2)(c) may grant the authorization;

  • (i.4) respecting time limits for issuing authorizations referred to in paragraph 35(2)(b) or (c), or for refusing to do so;

  • (j) respecting the import or export of fish;

  • (j.1) prescribing the circumstances in which the Indigenous knowledge of the Indigenous peoples of Canada that is provided to the Minister under this Act in confidence may be disclosed without written consent;

  • (k) respecting the taking or carrying of fish or any part thereof from one province to any other province;

  • (l) prescribing the powers and duties of persons engaged or employed in the administration or enforcement of this Act and providing for the carrying out of those powers and duties;

  • (m) if a close time, fishing quota or limit on the size or weight of fish or fishing gear or equipment has been fixed in respect of an area under the regulations, authorizing persons referred to in paragraph (l) to vary the close time, fishing quota or limit or fishing gear or equipment in respect of that area or any portion of that area;

  • (n) establishing a list of aquatic invasive species;

  • (n.1) defining aquatic invasive species for the purposes of the regulations;

  • (o) respecting the management and control of aquatic invasive species, including regulations

    • (i) respecting the prevention of the introduction and spread of those species,

    • (ii) respecting the possession of members of such species, and their import, export and transport,

    • (iii) respecting the release of members of such species into Canadian fisheries waters,

    • (iv) respecting the handling of members of such species,

    • (v) respecting the treatment and destruction of members of those species,

    • (vi) respecting the eradication of those species in a specified geographical area,

    • (vii) respecting the powers of a fishery officer and fishery guardian to manage and control those species,

    • (viii) authorizing a fishery officer and fishery guardian to exercise their powers with respect to a species that the officer or guardian, as the case may be, has reasonable grounds to believe is an aquatic invasive species, or

    • (ix) requiring any person to keep any record, book or other document containing any information relevant to the control of those species, and respecting where, how and how long it is to be kept; and

  • (p) prescribing anything that is required or authorized by this Act to be prescribed.

• Marginal note:Regulations — Governor in Council

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations establishing conditions for the exercise of the Minister’s power to make regulations under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Amendments to list of aquatic invasive species

  (3) The Minister may, by regulation, add species to the list of aquatic invasive species established by regulations made under paragraph (1)(n) or remove species from that list, and vary the places to which regulations made under paragraph (1)(o) apply.

• Marginal note:Paragraph 43(1)(i.5)

  (4) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(i.5) may include as a criterion for designation the fact that a decision has been made under an Act of Parliament to subject the project to an impact assessment.

• Marginal note:Regulations exempting certain Canadian fisheries waters

  (5) The Governor in Council may make regulations exempting any Canadian fisheries waters from the application of sections 20, 21 and 35 and subsection 38(4).