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QC Fisheries Division oversees all fishery and marine related activities in our group of companies. We manage and distribute QC’s fishing quota and QC’s portion of Unaaq’s quota as well as fishing allocations received through the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board’s Access and Allocations process. The QC Fisheries Division is dedicated ...
The Fisheries Act provides for the management and control of fisheries on the one hand and for the protection of fish habitat on the other. The provisions with respect to the protection of fish habitat are contained in the Act while control over harvesting appears largely in the regulations in the form of prohibitions.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Act. Financial Administration Act. Fisheries Act. Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations. Alberta Fishery Regulations, 1998. Aquaculture Activities Regulations. Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations. Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985. Authorizations Concerning Fish and Fish Habitat Protection ...
On November 25, 2013, new provisions of the Fisheries Act regarding fisheries protection came into effect, completing the planned amendments to the Act. These new provisions include the prohibition to undertake projects that may result in serious harm to fish that are part of or support a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery (Section 35).
- Overview
- Contact us
- Current regulations
- Additional information
- Annual report to Parliament
- Designation order
- Enabling regulations
- Reporting environmental emergencies
- Enforcement
This registry provides information about the pollution prevention provisions under the Fisheries Act. These provisions apply to all waters in the fishing zones and territorial seas of Canada as well as all internal waters of Canada. They are administered and enforced by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for administering and enforcing these provisions in relation to aquaculture, and the control and eradication of aquatic invasive species and aquatic pests. Visit Fisheries Act Registry for additional information about the responsibilities of Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Act.
Read our pollution and waste management page to know more about Canada’s overall action to track and reduce pollution and waste.
Overview
The Fisheries Act is the main federal legislation to manage and protect Canada’s fisheries resources. Subsections 36(3) to (6) of the Act are the main pollution prevention provisions protecting fish and other aquatic life by prohibiting pollution that could be harmful to them.
Subsection 36(3) prohibits the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish, or to any place, under any conditions, where they may enter waters frequented by fish.
Forest Products and Fisheries Act Division
Environmental Protection Branch
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 St. Joseph Blvd., 19th floor
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
Email: FPFA-PFLP@ec.gc.ca
•Deposit Out of the Normal Course of Events Notification Regulations (SOR/2011-91)
•Experimental Lakes Area Research Activities Regulations (SOR/2014-95)
•Meat and Poultry Products Plant Liquid Effluent Regulations (C.R.C., c. 818)
•Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (SOR/2002-222)
•Petroleum Refinery Liquid Effluent Regulations (C.R.C., c. 828)
•Potato Processing Plant Liquid Effluent Regulations (C.R.C., c. 829)
Forward Regulatory Plan: anticipated changes to current or proposed regulations
Complete list of regulations under the Fisheries Act
For information on the Regulations Establishing Conditions for Making Regulations Under Subsection 36(5.2) of the Fisheries Act (enabling regulations), see the Policy and administration tab.
ECCC is no longer considering the development of the proposed Alton Natural Gas Storage Cavern Development Activities Regulations. For more information, please visit updates on the proposed regulations for the Alton natural gas storage cavern development activities.
ECCC is exploring options to manage the accumulation of oil sands mine water in tailings ponds located in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region. For more information, please visit Oil sands mining effluent.
Policy and administration
Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada jointly report to Parliament on their activities and performance each fiscal year. This report covers the administration and enforcement of the Fisheries Act relating to fish and fish habitat protection and pollution prevention.
Annual Report to Parliament on the administration and enforcement of the fish habitat protection and pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act
The Order Designating the Minister of the Environment as the Minister Responsible for the Administration and Enforcement of Subsections 36(3) to (6) of the Fisheries Act, SI/2014-21, also called Designation order, was passed by the government in 2014 and amended in 2020. It formally made the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada generally responsible for the administration and enforcement of pollution prevention under the Fisheries Act.
The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard is responsible for pollution prevention relating to aquaculture and the control and eradication of aquatic invasive species and aquatic pests.
Most federal laws and regulations in Canada must be approved by the Governor in Council. Under some federal laws, ministers are given the authority to make regulations themselves. However, under the Fisheries Act, ministers can only make regulations under certain conditions outlined in enabling regulations.
The Regulations Establishing Conditions for Making Regulations Under Subsection 36(5.2) of the Fisheries Act are enabling regulations. They allow the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minster of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard to make regulations under certain conditions. These enabling regulations, in and of themselves, do not authorize any deposits of deleterious substances. Where a situation satisfies the conditions in the enabling regulations, it does not constitute an authorization, nor does it compel the ministers to develop regulations.
One of the conditions in the enabling regulations requires that certain deposits satisfy the recommendations of the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the protection of aquatic life or their site-specific application. These guidelines are available on the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment (CCME) website below:
•Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life
•Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life for individual substancesFootnote 1
•Protocol for the Derivation of Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life 2007
Under the Fisheries Act, any release or imminent danger of a release of harmful substances into fish-bearing waters must be reported to the authorities in the province or territory where the incident occurred. These regulations facilitate the reporting process between the provincial and federal authorities.
Environmental emergency contacts
Environmental enforcement officers enforce federal legislation that deals with different risks to the environment and its biodiversity. Violations of the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act and violations of other acts are available in the Environmental Offenders Registry.
For more information about the Enforcement Branch, please go to the Environmental and wildlife enforcement page.
Latest updates
Order Amending the Order Designating the Minister of the Environment as the Minister Responsible for the Administration and Enforcement of Subsections 36(3) to (6) of the Fisheries Act: SI/2020-48. July 8, 2020.
Aug 19, 2019 · Licensing is a tool available to the Minister under the Fisheries Act and regulations adopted under this Act (e.g. section 7 of the Fisheries Act or section 52, 56 and 68 of the Fishery (General) Regulations) to manage the fishing activities of licence holders in Canadian fisheries waters and on the high seas.
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May 1, 2024 · 1. The Government may, upon such conditions as it may determine, authorize the Minister of Finance to guarantee and to pay if need be, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, up to an aggregate sum of $500,000, the reimbursement of advances or loans (prêts) made, or loans (emprunts) effected, for commercial fishing purposes, by cooperatives, federations of cooperatives, and financial services ...
