Pacific Aquaculture Regulations

Pacific Aquaculture Regulations His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, pursuant to section 43a of the Fisheries Actb, hereby makes the annexed Pacific Aquaculture Regulations. S.C. 1991, c. 1, s. 12 R.S., c. F-14 The following definitions apply in these Regulations. Act means the Fisheries Act. (Loi) aquaculture means the cultivation of fish. (aquaculture) nuisance fish means fish that represent an imminent danger to the equipment used in the operation of an aquaculture facility, the safety of persons in the facility or the fish cultivated in the facility. (poisson nuisible) prescribed activities means the catching of fish for the purpose of cultivation; the catching of fish that is incidental to the operation of an aquaculture facility; the catching of fish for the purpose of complying with any monitoring condition specified in an aquaculture licence; the catching of fish that escape from an aquaculture facility for the purpose of returning them to the aquaculture facility or otherwise disposing of them; and the catching of nuisance fish. (activités réglementaires) shellfish means Mollusca, Echinodermata and Crustacea. (mollusques et crustacés) These Regulations apply in respect of aquaculture and prescribed activities in the territorial sea of Canada off the coast of British Columbia; the internal waters of Canada off the coast of British Columbia that are not in that province; the internal waters of Canada in British Columbia; and any facility in British Columbia from which fish may escape into Canadian fisheries waters. The Minister may issue an aquaculture licence authorizing a person to engage in aquaculture and prescribed activities on payment of the flat fee and the annual fee for the licence for the first year of the period during which it is valid. The flat fee is payable for each aquaculture licence application and is determined in accordance with the formula is (a)in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for non-commercial purposes, $0, and in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for non-commercial purposes, $0, and (b)in the case of all other aquaculture licences, $100; and in the case of all other aquaculture licences, $100; and is the annual adjustment factor determined in accordance with the formula is the year of the payment of the fee. The annual fee is payable in respect of each year of the period during which the licence is valid and is determined in accordance with the formula (a)in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for commercial purposes in a marine environment other than those fish referred to in paragraph (b), the number of tonnes of fish authorized to be cultivated under the terms of the licence, in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for commercial purposes in a marine environment other than those fish referred to in paragraph (b), the number of tonnes of fish authorized to be cultivated under the terms of the licence, (b)in the case of an aquaculture licence for shellfish cultivated for commercial purposes in a marine environment, the number of hectares on which the shellfish are authorized to be cultivated under the terms of the licence, and in the case of an aquaculture licence for shellfish cultivated for commercial purposes in a marine environment, the number of hectares on which the shellfish are authorized to be cultivated under the terms of the licence, and (c)in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for commercial purposes in a freshwater facility or in a land-based facility, zero, and in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for commercial purposes in a freshwater facility or in a land-based facility, zero, and (d)in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for non-commercial purposes, zero; in the case of an aquaculture licence for fish cultivated for non-commercial purposes, zero; (a)in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (a) of the description of D, $2.50, in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (a) of the description of D, $2.50, (b)in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (b) of the description of D, $5.00, in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (b) of the description of D, $5.00, (c)in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (c) of the description of D, $0, and in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (c) of the description of D, $0, and (d)in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (d) of the description of D, $0; and in the case of the licence referred to in paragraph (d) of the description of D, $0; and is the annual adjustment factor determined for B in subsection (2). An aquaculture licence must not be issued to an applicant who has not paid in full the flat and annual fees for aquaculture licences that were previously issued to that applicant. For the proper management and control of fisheries and the conservation and protection of fish, the Minister may specify, in addition to the conditions respecting the matters set out in subsection 22(1) of the Fishery (General) Regulations, conditions in an aquaculture licence respecting any of the following matters: the species and quantities of fish that are permitted to be cultivated and their place of origin; the age, sex, stage of development or size of fish that are permitted to be cultivated; the waters in which aquaculture and prescribed activities are permitted to be engaged in; the fish feed that is permitted to be used in aquaculture, as well as the storage of fish feed in the aquaculture facility; the harvesting of fish in the aquaculture facility; the measures that must be taken to control and monitor the presence of pathogens and pests in the aquaculture facility; the measures that must be taken to monitor the presence of pathogens and pests in wild fish in the waters that may be affected by the operations of the aquaculture facility; the measures that must be taken to minimize the escape of fish from the aquaculture facility and to catch the fish that escape; the catching of nuisance fish; the measures that must be taken to minimize the impact of the aquaculture facility’s operations on fish and fish habitat; the measures that must be taken to monitor the environmental impact of the aquaculture facility’s operations; the equipment that is permitted to be used in the operation of the aquaculture facility and the manner in which it is permitted to be used; the notice that must be given to the Minister before a substance is used to treat fish for pathogens or pests, fish are transferred to the aquaculture facility, or fish are harvested; the verification by an observer of any activity that is part of the aquaculture facility’s operations; the records that must be kept in relation to any matter referred to in paragraphs 61(2)(a) to (f) of the Act, including records of the species, quantity, age and sex of fish transferred to the aquaculture facility and the date of their transfer and harvest, the species and quantity of any fish found in the aquaculture facility that were not transferred to the facility under the authority of the licence, any diagnosis or treatment of a fish pathogen or pest present in the aquaculture facility, including the extent to which the pathogen or pest affects the fish in the facility, any substance used to treat fish for pathogens or pests, including the quantity used and the date and method of its administration, the number and species of fish that die prior to harvest, and the cause of death, the number and species of nuisance fish that die as a result of the aquaculture facility’s operations, the inspection and maintenance of the equipment used in the operation of the aquaculture facility, any major failure of the aquaculture facility’s containment structures and the quantity of any fish that escape from the facility, the data collected in the monitoring of the environmental impact of the aquaculture facility’s operations, and the data collected in the monitoring of the health of fish in the aquaculture facility and in the waters that may be affected by its operations; the manner and form in which the records are to be kept, the times at which and the person to whom the records are to be produced and the period for which the records are to be retained; and the place and time at which and the manner by which the annual licence fee must be paid. If, during a given year, a condition in an aquaculture licence is amended to modify the quantity of fish authorized to be cultivated or the area within which shellfish is authorized to be cultivated, the annual fee payable for that particular year must be recalculated. In the event that the annual fee is recalculated, the Minister must amend the conditions of the licence respecting the payment of the fee to reflect any increase if the specific amount of each annual fee is set out in the licence. Unless the retention of incidental catch is expressly authorized by an aquaculture licence, every person who catches a fish incidentally must immediately return it, if it is alive, to waters outside the aquaculture facility in a manner that causes it the least harm. Every holder of an aquaculture licence must keep the licence or a copy of it in the aquaculture facility and produce it on the demand of a fishery officer or fishery guardian; and when engaged in activities authorized by the licence outside the facility, produce the licence or a copy of it on the demand of a fishery officer or fishery guardian. A person must not engage in aquaculture or prescribed activities except under the authority of an aquaculture licence. [Amendment] These Regulations come into force on December 18, 2010.