Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 155, Number 1: Regulations Amending the Fishery (General) Regulations

January 2, 2021

Statutory authority
Fisheries Act

Sponsoring department
Department of Fisheries and Oceans

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Presently, a number of commercially significant marine fish stocks in Canada are at low levels. Others are at risk of decline due to changing environmental factors and/or elevated levels of fishing pressure. Many Canadian communities depend on fishing or processing industries for their livelihood, and Indigenous communities rely on fish for food, social, ceremonial, and commercial purposes. These communities have expressed strong interest in the rebuilding of fish stocks that are depleted. Preventing their decline by managing them sustainably will preserve important ecosystem functions and improve economic outcomes for the fish and seafood sector.

Recent legislative amendments to the Fisheries Act have strengthened Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) decision-making framework to support sustainable fisheries management, including the development and implementation of rebuilding plans for depleted stocks, which have been previously articulated in policy. A regulatory framework would bring accountability to the Government of Canada, and transparency and certainty to Canadians.

Background

Canada’s fish and seafood sector, which employs over 77 000 people, exported products valued at $6.92 billion in 2018. Healthy fish stocks are necessary for fisheries to continue to provide economic and social benefits to Canadians, including supporting livelihoods in remote Canadian communities. In addition, marine ecosystems provide important ecological goods and services to Canadians (e.g. carbon sequestration). When sustainably managed, healthy fish stocks contribute to stable and resilient ecosystems. However, when fish stocks decline, the fisheries on those stocks are likewise decreased, reducing their economic viability. For some communities, decreased fish stocks can also threaten food security and/or cultural activities. The development and implementation of stock rebuilding plans are widely accepted as essential to sustainable fisheries management.

Under the Fisheries Act, DFO is responsible for managing Canadian fisheries resources and for managing, conserving, and protecting Canadian fish and fish habitat. Bill C-68, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and other Acts in consequence, which received royal assent on June 21, 2019, amended the Fisheries Act to introduce, among other things, binding commitments on the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to (i) implement measures to maintain major fish stocks at levels necessary to promote sustainability and (ii) to develop and implement plans for stocks that have declined to or below their limit reference point (LRP) — the stock level below which productivity is sufficiently impaired to cause serious harm. However, the provisions only apply to stocks prescribed by regulation.

The fish stocks provisions in the modernized Fisheries Act formalize DFO’s existing policies around sustainable fisheries. For example, A Fishery Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach (PA Policy) applies to key harvested fish stocks managed by DFO that are the specific and intended targets of a commercial, recreational, or subsistence fishery. The PA Policy requires that a harvest strategy be incorporated into respective fisheries management plans to keep the removal rate moderate when the stock status is healthy; to promote rebuilding when stock status is low; and to reduce the risk of serious or irreversible harm to the stock. It also requires a rebuilding plan when a stock reaches low levels. Likewise, the Guidance for the Development of Rebuilding Plans under the Precautionary Approach Framework: Growing Stocks out of the Critical Zone (Rebuilding Guidance) provides a general overview of the rebuilding process, including a review of objective development, rebuilding timelines and involvement of co-management partners, Indigenous peoples, fishery participants, and others with an interest in the fishery. This Rebuilding Guidance also includes information regarding the recommended contents of a rebuilding plan.

The new fish stocks provisions also address feedback provided by environmental non-governmental organizations and Indigenous partners that highlighted the need to incorporate in law some of DFO’s existing policies for fisheries management, including when necessary, the development and implementation of rebuilding plans.

Over the next five years, DFO aims to prescribe the majority of its major stocks in regulations, so that they would be subject to the new provisions of the Fisheries Act. DFO’s list of major fish stocks is drawn from DFO’s annual Sustainability Survey for Fisheries, which currently sits at 177 stocks. The rate and size of future proposed batches will be influenced by whether the major stock has an LRP, the completeness of its PA framework as well as other economic, cultural and/or ecological considerations. Under the modernized Fisheries Act, the LRP is identified as the threshold that determines when a stock requires a rebuilding plan. LRPs are established by DFO using its Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) peer-review process. This process brings together members of the science community and other technical experts to impartially review the available data to develop expert advice (e.g. to identify LRPs or assess stocks), in keeping with the principle of science-based decision-making. In some cases, additional data collection and/or analysis is needed before this reference point can be determined. At present, not all of DFO’s major stocks have an LRP.

Until stocks are added to the regulations, they will continue to be managed by DFO under existing departmental policies.

Objective

The proposed regulations would formalize the Government of Canada’s commitment to promote heathier and more abundant Canadian fish stocks by establishing a transparent regime for the maintenance of major fish stocks and, where applicable, the contents and timelines for related rebuilding plans. This would strengthen DFO’s fisheries management framework leading to better conservation outcomes for the prescribed stocks, more demonstrably sustainable fisheries, and compliance with the Fisheries Act. In addition, the proposed regulations would result in the increased transparency and accountability that accompanies regulatory oversight as compared with policy approaches.

Description

The proposed regulations are needed to (1) prescribe a group of major stocks, thus making them subject to the fish stocks provisions, and (2) to ensure that rebuilding plans for prescribed stocks are developed consistently and within a reasonable time to encourage successful rebuilding.

• 1. Prescribe the first batch of major stocks that would be subject to sections 6.1 and 6.2 in the modernized Fisheries Act.

The proposed regulations would prescribe 30 fish stocks. This first “batch” consists of 28 stocks from the major stocks list that DFO currently surveys as part of its annual Sustainability Survey for Fisheries (survey stocks)

• 13 survey stocks are in the healthy or cautious zones and have complete or mostly complete precautionary approach (PA) frameworks; and
• 15 survey stocks have declined to or below their LRP and are in the critical zone, and therefore require rebuilding.

Two Pacific salmon stocks, which are not on the survey, are also proposed as part of the first batch of stocks to be prescribed, as DFO has committed to developing rebuilding plans for these stocks. Once prescribed, these two stocks would be added to the survey. Going forward, DFO intends to prescribe only stocks from the survey until the majority of the 177 stocks are prescribed.

The 13 stocks in the healthy or cautious zones (i.e. above their LRP) will be subject to section 6.1 of the Fisheries Act, which requires that the fisheries management measures maintain these stocks at or above the level necessary to promote their sustainability. These measures could comprise any number of actions that are already taken by DFO for each stock, including quantity of fish harvested, gear types used, issuance of licence, geographic and seasonal fishery closures, in the course of their normal management decisions.

The 17 stocks in the critical zone (i.e. at, or below their LRP), which include the two non-survey Pacific salmon stocks, will be subject to section 6.2 of the Fisheries Act, which requires that a rebuilding plan be developed and implemented to regrow these stocks above their LRP.

In the proposed regulation, the stocks are described by

• their common species and stock names (e.g. Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area [SFA] 6);
• the scientific name of the species (e.g. Pandalus borealis); and
• the area where the stock is geographically located (e.g. Shrimp Fishing Area 6).

For most of the proposed stocks, the stock area is based on fishing areas described in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 or the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007. However, for Pacific salmon, the stock area boundaries are described using the river systems that the salmon return to when they spawn. The Pacific salmon stock area descriptions include the words “all bodies of fresh water that flow directly or indirectly into” a river. A small river that flows directly in the Fraser River is an example of a direct flow, whereas a creek that flows into a small river that then flows in the Fraser River would be an example where the creek indirectly flows into the Fraser River.

The proposed list of prescribed stocks

Common Stock Name	Current Stock Status Relative to LRP	Status or Targeted Completion Date of Rebuilding Plan
Atlantic cod, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 3Pn4RS	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Atlantic cod, NAFO 2J3KL	Below	In progress - date under review
Atlantic cod, NAFO 3Ps	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Atlantic cod, NAFO 4TVn	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Atlantic halibut, NAFO 3NOPs4VWX5Z	Above	N/A
Atlantic herring, NAFO 4T (Spring Spawner)	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Atlantic mackerel table 1 note *	Below	By end of 2019–2020
Bocaccio rockfish table 1 note *	Below	Completed
Chinook salmon, West Coast of Vancouver Island	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Chinook salmon, Okanagan	Below	In progress - no date set
Coho salmon, Interior Fraser	Below	In progress - no date set
Lobster, Lobster Fishing Areas 19-21	Above	N/A
Northern shrimp, SFA 6	Below	Completed
Northern shrimp, SFA 8	Above	N/A
Northern shrimp, SFA 9	Above	N/A
Northern shrimp, SFA 10	Above	N/A
Northern shrimp, SFA 12	Above	N/A
Pacific hake table 1 note *	Above	N/A
Pacific herring, Haida Gwaii	Below	By end of 2020–2021
American plaice, NAFO 4T	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Acadian redfish, Unit 3	Above	N/A
Sablefish table 1 note *	Above	N/A
Silver hake, NAFO 4VWX	Above	N/A
Snow crab, Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence	Above	N/A
Snow crab, North-Eastern Nova Scotia (N-ENS)	Above	N/A
Snow crab, South-Eastern Nova Scotia (S-ENS)	Above	N/A
Winter flounder, NAFO 4T	Below	By end of 2020–2021
White hake, NAFO 4T	Below	By end of 2020–2021
Yelloweye rockfish, Inside waters	Below	Completed
Yelloweye rockfish, Outside waters	Below	Completed
Table 1 note(s) Table 1 note * Atlantic mackerel, Bocaccio rockfish, Pacific hake, and Sablefish do not have specific stock areas listed as part of their stock name, as there is only a single stock for each of those species in Canadian fisheries waters. Return to table 1 note * referrer

• 2. Set out the required contents of a rebuilding plan and the timeline to put a plan in place for prescribed stocks that have declined to or below their LRP.

For the major stocks prescribed in the proposed regulations that have declined to or below their LRP (i.e. in the Critical zone), a rebuilding plan is required under section 6.2 of the Fisheries Act to grow the stock above its LRP. The proposed regulations support this obligation by setting out the required contents of those rebuilding plans and establishing a timeline for each rebuilding plan’s development.

The purpose of a rebuilding plan is to identify the main objectives and requirements for the stocks in the areas covered by the plan, as well as the management measures that will be used to achieve these objectives. The plan provides a common understanding of the basic “rules” for rebuilding the stocks. Once the stock grows above the LRP, the Minister must implement measures to maintain or grow the stocks to or above the level necessary to promote sustainability per section 6.1 of the Fisheries Act.

The proposed regulations would require the following elements to be included in rebuilding plans developed under section 6.2(1) of the Fisheries Act:

• the stock status and stock trends;
• probable causes for the stock’s decline;
• measurable objectives aimed at rebuilding the stock;
• timelines for achieving those objectives;
• target for rebuilding the stock;
• management measures aimed at achieving the objectives;
• method to track progress to achieve the rebuilding plan’s objectives; and
• schedule for a periodic review of the plan to determine whether the objectives are being met and whether an adjustment is needed.

These elements are based on the contents required in DFO’s existing Rebuilding Guidance.

The proposed regulations would not establish specific standards for each of these elements. DFO would develop the content of each section for each stock individually in consultation with modern treaty partners, Indigenous peoples and fisheries stakeholders through DFO’s established fisheries management advisory processes, to customize each rebuilding plan to the needs of the stock and the fisheries on that stock.

Additional sections or information could be added to the rebuilding plans, as appropriate for the stock in question. However, all rebuilding plans developed under section 6.2 of the Fisheries Act would be required to have, at a minimum, the components listed above. Internal reviews of rebuilding plans would be conducted to ensure compliance with the proposed regulations. Once approved, rebuilding plans would be published on DFO’s website.

The proposed regulations would also set out the time frames for developing the rebuilding plans required under 6.2(1) of the Fisheries Act. The plans would have to be developed and put in place within 24 months of section 6.2(1) being triggered. Section 6.2(1) will be considered triggered when the Minister first had knowledge that a listed stock has declined below its LRP. This would normally be following a DFO CSAS peer-review meeting of the stock assessment, or, if at the time of listing in regulations the stock is already below its LRP, when the regulations come into force. The Minister may extend the timeline up to 12 additional months, if necessary, to complete the plan. For example, additional time may be required to collect, analyze, write up and present critical scientific information about the stock, which is needed to complete the plan.

Fisheries management measures consistent with the intent of rebuilding may be implemented before a rebuilding plan is formally developed under the fish stocks provisions. In other words, the proposed regulations would not delay or impede rebuilding efforts during the 24-month (or 36-month) period that a plan is under development. The existing PA Policy states that management actions should encourage stock growth even before a stock declines below its LRP.

Under the Fisheries Act, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has broad powers for the proper management and control of commercial fisheries. For most commercial fish stocks, this involves making regular fisheries decisions that set out the management measures for a specific stock or group of stocks during a particular fishing season. A fisheries decision may include determination of total allowable catches, fishing gear types, opening and closing dates for the season, etc. These decisions are informed by scientific advice, stakeholder consultations and consideration of trade-offs between conservation and socio-economic factors. In respect of any fish stocks prescribed in regulations, any such management decisions must reasonably seek to promote the outcomes outlined in the provisions (i.e. maintain stocks at sustainable levels (s. 6.1(1)), above the LRP (s. 6.1(2)) or to develop a rebuilding plan (s. 6.2(1)).

The requirement to develop a rebuilding plan for fish stocks prescribed under the proposed regulations would not apply to species that are also listed as endangered or threatened on Schedule I (List of Wildlife Species at Risk) to the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Instead, the general prohibitions described under sections 32 and 33 of SARA (which are applicable to all species listed on Schedule 1 as extirpated, endangered or threatened) would apply; namely, for these species it would be an offence to:

• kill, harm, harass, capture or take an individual;
• possess, collect, buy, sell or trade an individual, or any part or derivative of such an individual; and,
• damage or destroy the residence of one or more individuals.

Additionally, sections 37 and 47 of SARA require the development of a Recovery Strategy and Action Plan(s), respectively, including the identification and protection (section 58) of critical habitat, in order to provide for the recovery of endangered and threatened species.

However, species designated as special concern under SARA, that are also subject to the fish stocks provisions, would require both a SARA management plan (section 65) and a fish stocks provisions rebuilding plan (e.g. Yelloweye Rockfish). DFO will explore ways to minimize duplication of effort in meeting these two obligations.

Prescribed major stocks that have been assessed as an endangered or threatened species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and are either pending a listing decision on whether or not to add them to Schedule 1 of SARA, or for which a decision has been made to not include them on Schedule 1, will still require a rebuilding plan under section 6.2 of the Fisheries Act.

Regulatory development

Consultation

DFO consulted with provincial and territorial governments, as well as key stakeholders such as national Indigenous organizations, industry associations and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) on the initial development of the regulatory proposal in 2018. In addition, from December 2018 to March 2019, DFO conducted a public consultation that informed stakeholders across Canada via letters, social media and the DFO website of the purpose of the consultations, an overview of the Fisheries Act amendments, the proposed regulations and where to find additional information on related topics. During these consultations, each DFO region contacted a full range of modern treaty partners, Indigenous peoples, industry, ENGOs and other stakeholders. Feedback was also solicited during presentations and meetings conducted in all relevant DFO regional offices and National Headquarters.

In response, forty-five written submissions were received from co-management partners, Indigenous peoples and organizations, harvesters and industry associations, ENGOs, provincial and territorial governments and members of parliament. There was general support for the proposed regulations. The main views of the consulted parties are detailed below along with explanations of how these recommendations were taken into account.

Several modern treaty partners as well as Indigenous peoples and organizations recommended that the proposed content of rebuilding plans include recognition of Indigenous knowledge and Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries. The Fisheries Act establishes that traditional knowledge may be a consideration in fisheries management (section 2.5), which includes the development of rebuilding plans.

DFO would develop rebuilding plans in consultation with modern treaty partners and Indigenous peoples, as well as fisheries stakeholders, through pre-existing fisheries management advisory processes. As a result, there would be opportunities for Indigenous knowledge to be provided. Therefore, while the proposed regulations do not include specific references to Indigenous knowledge, its inclusion is permitted under the Fisheries Act.

Rebuilding plans developed under the proposed regulations would respect the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act (1982) and those in section 2.3 of the Fisheries Act, including those recognized in modern treaties. Adverse effects to these rights must be considered by section 2.4 of the Fisheries Act. The proposed regulations are also guided by the 1990 Sparrow decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, which found that where an Indigenous group has a right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes, this right takes priority, after conservation, over other uses of the resources.

The industry associations and individual harvesters generally recommended that the proposed regulations maintain flexibility and preserve the Minister’s discretion with respect to rebuilding planning. The proposed regulations respond to this recommendation by outlining the required elements of rebuilding plans without dictating the contents of those plans. In addition, five of the proposed stocks were recommended by industry associations to be removed from batch 1 based on concerns that there were insufficient data available for these stocks to meet the requirements of the proposed regulations. However, DFO exercised due diligence and concluded that the information available was sufficient for DFO to meet its obligations. Consequently, the stocks are included in the proposed regulations.

Industry and ENGOs stakeholders sought the inclusion of a distinct mechanism in the proposed regulations whereby environmental and ecosystem conditions may influence stock rebuilding. Having considered subsection 6.2(1) of the modernized Fisheries Act, which requires that the rebuilding plans take into account the biology of the fish and the environmental conditions affecting the stock, DFO is of the view that such a mechanism would be redundant. These factors would be addressed in rebuilding plans as appropriate (e.g. in the probable causes for the stock’s decline or other relevant sections).

In response to industry and ENGO feedback seeking a built-in review mechanism, the proposed regulations would require that each rebuilding plan include a scheduled periodic review of its progress towards achieving its objectives. In addition, the proposed regulations outline that the plan may be adjusted if necessary.

ENGOs recommended that the proposed regulations set the target for rebuilt stocks to be in the healthy zone. This suggestion was not incorporated as it would establish a higher obligation than the fish stocks provisions in the Fisheries Act, which only requires that the rebuilding plan be aimed at growing the stock above its LRP. Under the Fisheries Act, the stock would be subject to section 6.1, and thus fisheries management measures must aim to maintain the stock at levels necessary to promote sustainability. Nevertheless, existing policies recommend that a fisheries management plan should aim to continue the stock’s regrowth towards the healthy zone if possible.

In response to comments from ENGOs and some Indigenous groups during the consultations, DFO added three southern Gulf of St. Lawrence groundfish stocks to batch 1: cod, American plaice and winter flounder. Rebuilding plans for these stocks are currently in development.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

The proposed list of prescribed fish stocks are part of federally managed fisheries and fishing areas on the east and west coasts of Canada, including areas where Indigenous fishing occurs. However, the proposed regulations would not have a direct impact on Indigenous or treaty rights, interests or self-government provisions, as they solely establish obligations on the Government.

Implications for modern treaty partners and Indigenous peoples may arise during the development of fisheries management measures or rebuilding plans. The fisheries management process and the rebuilding plan development process are not covered under this proposed regulatory change; instead, these are supported by pre-existing, dedicated engagement processes for co-management established in modern treaties, as well as with Indigenous peoples. DFO intends to continue to use these processes for prescribed stocks.

During consultations on these proposed regulations, DFO’s modern treaty partners and most Indigenous peoples and organizations recommended that a variety of additional stocks and sub-components of stocks should be added to the proposed regulations. However, these stocks lack LRPs, and thus would not meet the requirements of the fish stocks provisions of the Fisheries Act. DFO is considering how to incorporate these recommendations into its work planning to ensure LRPs are developed in a timely manner so that these stocks may be prescribed in a future batch.

Instrument choice

In its amendments to the Fisheries Act, the Government of Canada sought to elevate DFO’s existing fisheries management policies to legally binding obligations to ensure management decisions were focused on conservation and sustainable use. The proposed regulations are required to implement the fish stocks provisions in the Fisheries Act, as the provisions only apply to stocks prescribed in the regulations. As a result, no other instruments were considered.

The principle of outcome-based regulations has been applied, particularly with respect to rebuilding plans. Under the proposed regulations, specific components would be required to be included in a rebuilding plan developed under s. 6.2(1) of the Fisheries Act. However, the precise content of those components (i.e. management measures) are not prescribed and instead will be determined on a stock-by-stock basis in consultation with stakeholders.

Regulatory analysis

Baseline

All 30 stocks that would be prescribed in the proposed regulations are currently managed under the PA Policy and are already actively managed by DFO every year. For each stock, DFO makes regular decisions on the quantity of the fish that can be harvested, gear types that may be used, issuance of licence, geographic and seasonal fishery closures, etc., in the course of its normal business. Thirteen of the 30 stocks fall within the healthy zone for which the PA Policy requires that a harvest strategy be incorporated into respective fisheries management plans to keep the removal rate moderate. With respect to the remaining 17 stocks that are in the critical zone, the PA Policy calls for promoting the rebuilding of the stock to reduce the risk of serious or irreversible harm to the stock. It also requires a rebuilding plan when a stock reaches low levels.

Management scenarios

Prescribing the stocks in the proposed regulations would not result in any immediate implementation of management measures. The specific stock management measures would not be prescribed in the regulations; rather, these would be determined for each stock on an ongoing basis as part of their existing fisheries management cycle. For the 13 stocks above their LRP, s. 6.1 of the Fisheries Act sets out an objective to maintain the stock at a sustainable level, similar to those principles established under the PA Policy for healthy and cautious zone stocks, i.e. the maintenance or growth of the stock towards the healthy zone. Similarly, the PA Policy requirements for a rebuilding plan for stocks that are in the critical zone does not differ from the proposed regulatory requirements under s. 6.2 of the Fisheries Act. The only difference is the timeframe in which the rebuilding plans would have to be developed. The proposed regulations would require that a rebuilding plan be developed for each stock within two years after the stocks have been prescribed. Of the 17 stocks that would be subject to this requirement, rebuilding plans for 5 stocks have already been developed and the remaining 12 stocks are in varying stages of plan development. Moreover, the proposed regulations would not change the level of effort required to get these rebuilding plans developed, as most are targeted for completion by the end of fiscal 2020–21 (i.e. within the prescribed timeframe) under DFO’s current publicly available work plan.

Benefits and costs

There would be no incremental costs to businesses, consumers or Canadians associated with the proposed regulations as the proposed regulations impose obligations solely on DFO. The costs associated with future management measures proposed under the fish stocks provisions of Fisheries Act are expected to be comparable to those implemented in accordance with DFO’s existing fisheries management policies.

While the proposed regulations themselves would not have impacts on harvesters, Indigenous groups, other stakeholders, or Canadians, there may be benefits and costs as stock management measures are developed and implemented. The incremental impacts cannot be estimated at this time, as they are dependent on the specific management measures required for each stock. However, they would be assessed as part of the established fisheries management advisory processes, including the rebuilding plan development process when applicable.

There may be some incremental costs to Government for developing the rebuilding plans; however, these are anticipated to be negligible, as rebuilding plans have already been developed through implementation of the PA framework. DFO previously committed resources to develop rebuilding plans more rapidly for the 17 stocks that would be prescribed under the proposed regulations. The proposed regulations do not have an enforcement component; therefore, no enforcement or compliance costs would be incurred.

Small business lens

The small business lens would not apply, as there are no costs to small businesses, since the proposed regulations would only apply to DFO in the management of fisheries (e.g. to maintain stocks or to develop rebuilding plans with specific contents and in a specific timeframe). Under the existing DFO policy, rebuilding plans are already required for depleted stocks.

One-for-one rule

The proposed regulations would not impose any administrative burden on businesses. Therefore, the one-for-one rule does not apply.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The proposed regulations are not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.

Strategic environmental assessment

This regulatory proposal would fulfill targets and key priorities of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. It would contribute to the sustainable fisheries targets and help achieve progress towards the 2020 biodiversity goals and targets for Canada towards healthy coast and oceans and healthy wildlife populations. This would be accomplished through different means, including by moving forward on ensuring that fish stocks are managed and harvested sustainably and by promoting the health and status of major fish stocks.

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

No gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) impacts have been identified for this proposal, since the proposed regulations solely establish obligations on the Government of Canada.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

These proposed regulations would come into force on the day on which they are registered. For the prescribed stocks that are already at or below their LRP and thus require a rebuilding plan, the proposed timeline to develop the plan would begin on that day.

On November 21, 2018, the Government of Canada announced in its Fall Economic Statement that $107.4 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, and $17.6 million per year ongoing would be made available to support the implementation of the fish stocks provisions of the renewed Fisheries Act. These investments will be used to, among other things, accelerate the implementation of the PA Policy for most of these prescribed major fish stocks, including the development of rebuilding plans for depleted stocks.

Compliance and enforcement

As the proposed regulations will only impose obligations on DFO, existing internal reporting mechanisms will continue to be used to monitor progress in developing rebuilding plans. DFO’s annual work plan related to the development of PA frameworks (including rebuilding plans, their expected dates of completion and notices of extension), the Sustainability Survey for Fisheries, and the Departmental Results Framework will continue to be published to report on this progress to Canadians.

Contact

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street, Room 14S015
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Email: DFO.Rebuilding-Retablissement.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 6.3 ^{footnote a} and paragraphs 43(1)(b.1) ^{footnote b} and (p) ^{footnote c} of the Fisheries Act ^{footnote d}, proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Fishery (General) Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 200 Kent Street, Room 14S015, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E6 (email: DFO.Rebuilding-Retablissement.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca).

Ottawa, December 10, 2020

Julie Adair
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

Regulations Amending the Fishery (General) Regulations

Amendments

1 The Fishery (General) Regulations ^{footnote 1} are amended by adding the following after section 68:

PART XIV

Fish Stocks

69 For the purposes of section 6.3 of the Act, the major fish stocks referred to in sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Act are listed in the Table in Schedule IX.

70 (1) A plan to rebuild a major fish stock, required under subsection 6.2(1) of the Act, must contain the following information:

• (a) the stock status and stock trends;
• (b) the probable causes for the stock’s decline;
• (c) measurable objectives aimed at rebuilding the stock;
• (d) the timelines for achieving the objectives;
• (e) the target for rebuilding the stock;
• (f) the management measures aimed at achieving the objectives;
• (g) a method to track progress to achieve the objectives; and
• (h) a schedule for a periodic review of the plan to determine whether the objectives are being met and whether an adjustment is needed.

(2) The plan must be developed within 24 months after the day on which the Minister first had knowledge that the stock had declined to or below its limit reference point.

(3) The Minister may extend the timeline to the extent necessary for a period not exceeding 12 months to complete the plan.

2 The Regulations are amended by adding, after Schedule VIII, the Schedule IX set out in the schedule to these Regulations.

Coming into Force

3 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE

(Section 2)

SCHEDULE IX

(Section 69)

Major Fish Stocks

Definition

1 In this Schedule, NAFO means the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization.

TABLE

Item	Column I Stock Name	Column II Scientific Name of Species	Column III Stock Area
1	Atlantic cod, NAFO 3Pn4RS	Gadus morhua	The Area composed of Subdivision 3Pn described in paragraph 4(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, and Divisions 4R and 4S described in paragraph 5(b) of that note
2	Atlantic cod, NAFO 2J3KL	Gadus morhua	The Area composed of Division 2J described in paragraph 3(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, and Divisions 3K and 3L described in paragraph 4(b) of that note
3	Atlantic cod, NAFO 3Ps	Gadus morhua	Subdivision 3Ps described in paragraph 4(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
4	Atlantic cod, NAFO 4TVn	Gadus morhua	The Area composed of Division 4T described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 and Subdivision 4Vn described in that paragraph
5	Atlantic halibut, NAFO 3NOPs4VWX5Z	Hippoglossus hippoglossus	The Area composed of Divisions 3N and 3O described in paragraph 4(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, of Subdivision 3Ps described in paragraph 4(b) of that note, of Divisions 4V, 4W and 4X described in paragraph 5(b) of that note, and Division 5Z described at paragraph 6(b) of that note
6	Atlantic herring, NAFO 4T (Spring Spawner)	Clupea harengus	Division 4T described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
7	Atlantic mackerel	Scomber scombrus	The Area composed of Subarea 3 described in paragraph 4(a) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, and of Subarea 4 described in paragraph 5(a) of that note
8	Bocaccio rockfish	Sebastes paucispinis	The Area composed of all Areas as defined in section 1 of the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007
9	Chinook salmon, West Coast of Vancouver Island	Oncorhynchus tshawytscha	The Area composed of (a) all rivers that drain into the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island between the Goodspeed River in the north and the Sooke River in the south; (b) the Goodspeed River and the Sooke River; and (c) all bodies of fresh water that flow directly or indirectly into any of the rivers referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b)
10	Chinook salmon, Okanagan	Oncorhynchus tshawytscha	The Area composed of (a) the part of the Okanagan River that is between its confluence with Shuttleworth Creek and the border between Canada and the United States; and (b) all bodies of fresh water that flow directly or indirectly into the part of the Okanagan River referred to in paragraph (a)
11	Coho salmon, Interior Fraser	Oncorhynchus kisutch	The Area composed of (a) the part of the Fraser River that is upstream from its confluence with Ruby Creek; (b) Ruby Creek; and (c) all bodies of fresh water that flow directly or indirectly into the part of the Fraser River referred to in paragraph (a) or into Ruby Creek
12	Lobster, Lobster Fishing Areas 19-21	Homarus americanus	The Area composed of Lobster Fishing Areas 19 to 21 illustrated and enumerated in Part III of Schedule XIII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
13	Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area 6	Pandalus borealis	Shrimp Fishing Area 6 illustrated and enumerated in Schedule XVII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
14	Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area 8	Pandalus borealis	Shrimp Fishing Area 8 illustrated and enumerated in Schedule XVII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
15	Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area 9	Pandalus borealis	Shrimp Fishing Area 9 illustrated and enumerated in Schedule XVII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
16	Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area 10	Pandalus borealis	Shrimp Fishing Area 10 illustrated and enumerated in Schedule XVII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
17	Northern shrimp, Shrimp Fishing Area 12	Pandalus borealis	Shrimp Fishing Area 12 illustrated and enumerated in Schedule XVII to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
18	Pacific hake	Merluccius productus	The Area composed of Areas 1 to 12, 20, 21, 23 to 27, 101 to 111, 121, 123 to 127, 130 and 142 described in Schedule 2 to the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007
19	Pacific herring, Haida Gwaii	Clupea pallasii	The Area composed of Subareas 2-1 to 2-19 and 2-31 to 2-37 described in Schedule 2 to the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007
20	American Plaice, NAFO 4T	Hippoglossoides platessoides	Division 4T described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
21	Acadian redfish, Unit 3	Sebastes fasciatus	The Area composed of Division 4X described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, the portion of Subarea 5 described in paragraph 6(a) of that note lying west of the Meridian located at 67°40′ west longitude, and the portion of Division 4W described in paragraph 5(b) of that note lying north of straight lines joining the following points in the order listed: 44°10′ north latitude and 60°00′ west longitude, 44°10′ north latitude and 61°00′ west longitude, 43°30′ north latitude and 61°00′ west longitude, 43°30′ north latitude and 61°30′ west longitude, 43°40′ north latitude and 61°30′ west longitude, 43°40′ north latitude and 61°40′ west longitude, 43°50′ north latitude and 61°40′ west longitude, 43°50′ north latitude and 62°10′ west longitude, 42°40′ north latitude and 62°10′ west longitude, 42°40′ north latitude and 63°20′ west longitude
22	Sablefish	Anoplopoma fimbria	The Area composed of all Areas as defined in section 1 of the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007
23	Silver hake, NAFO 4VWX	Merluccius bilinearis	The Area composed of Divisions 4V, 4W and 4X described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
24	Snow crab, Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence	Chionoecetes opilio	The Area known as the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence that is composed of Crab Fishing Areas 18, 19, 25 and 26, illustrated and enumerated in Part III of Schedule XI to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, and the portion of Crab Fishing Area 12 illustrated and enumerated in Part IIB of Schedule XI to those Regulations lying south and west of straight lines joining the following points in the order listed: 48˚45′18′′ north latitude and 64˚09′54′′ west longitude, 48˚53′30′′ north latitude and 63˚48′54′′ west longitude, 49˚17′00′′ north latitude and 64˚44′00′′ west longitude, 49˚21′25′′ north latitude and 65˚35′30′′ west longitude, 49˚40′20′′ north latitude and 64˚54′50′′ west longitude, 49˚00′00′′ north latitude and 63˚08′30′′ west longitude, 48˚02′30′′ north latitude and 61˚07′00′′ west longitude, 47˚44′30′′ north latitude and 60˚25′15′′ west longitude, 47˚21′30′′ north latitude and 60˚16′00′′ west longitude, 47˚18′30′′ north latitude and 60˚18′00′′ west longitude, 47˚16′25′′ north latitude and 60˚17′40′′ west longitude, 47˚02′15′′ north latitude and 60˚24′55′′ west longitude
25	Snow crab, North-Eastern Nova Scotia (N-ENS)	Chionoecetes opilio	The Area composed of Crab Fishing Areas 20 to 22 illustrated and enumerated in Part III of Schedule XI to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
26	Snow crab, South-Eastern Nova Scotia (S-ENS)	Chionoecetes opilio	The Area composed of the portion of Crab Fishing Areas 23 and 24 illustrated and enumerated in Part IIB of Schedule XI to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 lying east of Divisions 4W and 4X described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to those Regulations
27	Winter flounder, NAFO 4T	Pseudopleuronectes americanus	Division 4T described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
28	White hake, NAFO 4T	Urophycis tenuis	Division 4T described in paragraph 5(b) of Note A of Schedule III to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985
29	Yelloweye rockfish, Inside waters	Sebastes ruberrimus	The Area composed of Areas 13 to 20, 28 and 29, and Subareas 12-1 to 12-13 and 12-15 to 12-48 described in Schedule 2 to the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007
30	Yelloweye rockfish, Outside waters	Sebastes ruberrimus	The Area composed of Areas 3 to 11, 21, 23 to 27, 101 to 111, 121, 123, 126, 127, 130 and 142, and Subareas 1-1 to 1-5, 2-1 to 2-19, 2-31 to 2-100, 12-14, 124-1 to 124-4 and 125-1 to 125-6 described in Schedule 2 to the Pacific Fishery Management Area Regulations, 2007