Provincial fisher certificates accepted instead of FRC

Summary#

These final regulations (SOR/2020-255) change federal fisheries rules so that, in places where provinces have official certification boards, a provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate can be used instead of a federal fisher’s registration card. The amendments took effect on the day they were registered (November 30, 2020) and were published in the Canada Gazette on December 9, 2020.

What it does#

• Adds a formal definition of “provincial or territorial fisher’s certificate” to the Fishery (General) Regulations.
• Changes the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations so that people who are registered or certified with a recognized provincial or territorial board do not have to carry a federal fisher’s registration card (FRC).
• Lets fishery officers or fishery guardians ask for a provincial/territorial certificate as proof, instead of an FRC.
• Keeps the option for DFO to issue an FRC where no provincial board exists or to issue an FRC on request even where a board does exist.
• Updates some wording in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 to be gender-neutral.
• Keeps the same rule that people who can’t produce either an FRC or a provincial certificate may be breaking the Fisheries Act (enforcement still applies).

Who's affected#

• Commercial fish harvesters (licence holders and crew) in provinces with certification boards now in place or being set up. In practice this currently affects harvesters in:
  • Newfoundland and Labrador (board: Newfoundland and Labrador Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board or PFHCB),
  • Quebec (board: Bureau d’accréditation des pêcheurs et aides-pêcheurs du Québec or BAPAP),
  • Nova Scotia (board: Fish Harvesters Registration and Certification Board of Nova Scotia or FHRCBNS).
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) staff who issue cards and enforce the rules.
• Provincial or territorial certification boards that register and train harvesters.
• Fish harvesters in provinces and territories without boards (for example New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, and currently British Columbia) are not affected unless their province or territory sets up a board.

Why it matters#

• It gives fishers a choice to use a provincial/territorial certification as their official proof of registration instead of a federal card. That can reduce duplicate paperwork.
• Provincial boards provide training and certification aimed at improving safety, skills and conservation practices. The rules make it easier for that training to count as official registration.
• Cost and revenue effects:
  • Existing boards charge about $75/year (Newfoundland and Labrador) and $50/year (Quebec).
  • The PFHCB has about 9,500 registrants and BAPAP about 1,778 registrants.
  • If Nova Scotia’s board reaches uptake estimates, about 6,400 harvesters could register there.
  • DFO stopped collecting some FRC fees already; estimated annual lost revenue since then is about $739,000 (Newfoundland and Labrador) and $183,000 (Quebec), with a potential additional loss of up to $646,000 if many Nova Scotia harvesters move to a board.
  • DFO expects some administrative savings, estimated at about $234,562.
• Some industry groups wanted provincial certification to be mandatory. The federal change does not make certification mandatory. Provinces have the authority to set mandatory training or certification; this federal change only accepts provincial certificates as an alternative to the FRC.