Inshore and Coastal Licence Independence Rules

Summary#

These are final rules called the Regulations Amending the Atlantic Fisheries Regulations, 1985 and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations (SOR/2020-246). They put parts of the longtime inshore and coastal licensing policies into regulation so licence holders must personally hold and control the rights and privileges of certain commercial fishing licences in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Some parts took effect on registration (November 23, 2020) and key rules come into force on April 1, 2021.

What it does#

• Sets out who can be issued certain inshore and coastal licences: generally an individual, their estate, a corporation wholly owned by one individual, or certain community organizations. (These rules apply under the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations.)
• Requires licence holders (or an authorized substitute operator) to personally carry out the fishing activities authorized by the licence.
• Prohibits a licence holder from transferring the use or control of the licence’s rights and privileges to a third party, and prohibits third parties from using or controlling those rights — with specific exceptions.
• Lists authorized exceptions where rights or control may be used by others, including:
  • using a licence as loan collateral and recognized financial institutions collecting on that collateral;
  • limited recourse for non-recognized lenders who collect on collateral (they may recommend a new licence holder or reallocate quota, but cannot fish the licence themselves);
  • bankruptcy trustees, estates on death, legally authorized representatives during incapacity;
  • authorized substitute operators while they are acting;
  • transfers to carefully defined family fishing corporations or family trusts that keep control with the licence-holder family;
  • transfers of quota or gear when authorized by the department;
  • community organizations that hold allocations and require a share of proceeds.
• Adds a requirement for certain licence holders to keep a crew registry for each trip (to support exceptions about sharing catch proceeds).
• Creates enforcement and eligibility consequences: someone who has transferred rights (outside the allowed exceptions) can be denied a licence, and if they do not fix the problem within 12 months they can become permanently ineligible to hold that same type of licence.

Who's affected#

• Licence holders in the inshore and coastal commercial fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. That includes those called “Independent Core” and other inshore licence categories named in the regulations.
• Third parties that currently have or seek control or influence over licences, such as fish processors and buyers, and lenders who use licences as collateral.
• Financial institutions and trustees involved in lending or insolvency related to fishing enterprises.
• Community-based organizations that hold fish allocations (these are preserved as exceptions).
• Indigenous groups and people who fish under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations are excluded from these amendments; they are not affected by these specific rules.

Why it matters#

• The rules aim to keep licences and the money from catch in the hands of independent fish harvesters and their communities, rather than allowing outside companies or buyers to control fishing rights through contracts or loans.
• In practice this can change how licence holders structure business deals, financing, and corporate ownership. Some licence holders may need to adjust agreements or corporate arrangements to meet the new rules.
• The government expects a small ongoing paperwork cost: recording crew for each trip (about 42 seconds per trip, roughly 36 trips per year for an average licence) — estimated at about $17 per licence holder per year (aggregated cost $160,560 annually).
• If a licence holder is found to have improperly transferred control of licence rights, they can be denied renewal or reissuance and must resolve the issue within 12 months or risk long-term ineligibility. This gives the department a clearer tool to enforce the owner-operator and fleet-separation goals that have guided inshore fisheries policy for decades.