Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 160, Number 27: Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made under the Fisheries Act (Unattended Fishing Gear)

July 4, 2026

Statutory authority
Fisheries Act

Sponsoring department
Department of Fisheries and Oceans

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 (AFR), the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations (MPFR) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Regulations (NLFR) prescribe a singular gear tending time for all fixed (or stationary) gear fisheries. While a uniform soak time requirement can adequately service a majority of inshore fisheries, in other settings and situations, such as offshore fisheries and fleets, which operate further from shore and may be subject to large trap allocations and trip restrictions, a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t practical or economical, and inadvertently may pose safety risks to crew who may feel obligated to tend gear in unsafe weather conditions in order to comply with the soak time requirements.

Background

The AFR and MPFR require that fishing gear not be left unattended in the water for more than 72 consecutive hours; or, in the case of the NLFR, three days excluding the date of the setting of the gear, unless prevented from attending the gear by circumstances beyond their control. The requirements apply to all fixed (or stationary) gear types (e.g. traps and pots, gillnets and longlines) in the areas listed in section 3 of the AFR, namely in the tidal waters of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec and coastal and offshore marine fisheries in Nunavut; in the Canadian fishery waters adjacent to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, as provided in section 3 of the MPFR; and in the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador, as defined in the NLFR.

It is generally understood that the objectives of the gear tending (or “soak time”) provisions are to minimize spoilage of catch, incidental catch, entanglement of marine mammals, turtles and sea birds, gear conflict and gear loss.

Maintaining these requirements in regulation is unnecessary because the Fishery (General) Regulations (FGR) authorizes the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Minister) to specify soak times as a condition of licence. Conditions of licence are a key instrument used by fisheries managers in order to establish rules during the fishing season. These conditions are attached to fishing licences that have been issued and are legally binding requirements.

These proposed amendments were identified in the Department’s Red Tape Review Progress Report, as the goal is to provide DFO with greater flexibility to tailor soak time requirements to specific fisheries and fleets through conditions of licence. This approach would facilitate more responsive adjustments to soak times based on emerging science, operational realities, or conservation needs, since licence conditions are easier to vary and better suited to evolving fishery dynamics than uniform regulatory prescriptions.

Objective

The objective of the proposed regulatory amendments is to remove the rigid provisions related to soak time in the AFR, MPFR, and the NLFR.

Description

The proposed amendments would repeal the soak time provisions of the AFR (section 115.2), MPFR (section 27), and NLFR (section 8). DFO would thereafter prescribe soak times as a condition of licence on a fishery-by-fishery or fleet basis. As the soak time provisions of all three regulations apply to licences issued pursuant to the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations, those licences will see their soak times transition to their conditions of licence as well.

Regulatory development

Consultation

Consultation concerning the proposed amendments took place between January and February 2026. In early January, DFO sent letters to impacted stakeholders, including commercial licence holders, industry representatives, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), and Indigenous chiefs and councils, inviting them to participate in an online survey. DFO also attended two regional advisory committee meetings (Eastern Arctic Groundfish Stakeholders Advisory Committee and the Scotia Fundy Roundtable) to present the proposed amendments, take questions, and invite participants to complete the survey.

The survey received 133 responses from a broad range of stakeholders and Indigenous licence holders. The feedback was overwhelmingly in favour of repealing the regulatory soak times and making them conditions of licence, with 119 respondents supporting the proposal and many citing safety as the main benefit of the proposed amendments. Many respondents also noted that moving soak time requirements to conditions of licence would allow for increased flexibility in managing their fisheries and allow licence holders to respond to their specific operational realities.

Twelve respondents from the survey, including ENGOs and inshore licence holders, noted concern that extended soak times could increase the risk of marine animal endangerment, particularly related to net fisheries, or that repealing the soak time from the regulations could allow abuse or neglect from harvesters. However, based on feedback received, most harvesters do not want to leave their gear unattended for lengthy periods of time, as it can increase risk, costs and inefficiency for harvesters; therefore, the risk of endangerment or abuse and neglect is considered to be low. Some respondents also noted that moving soak times to licence conditions could create enforcement challenges, including inconsistent limits across adjacent fisheries, complexity in licence-based rules, and difficulties verifying compliance when only part of the gear is hauled. To address these concerns, DFO would maintain consistent soak time requirements across overlapping or similar fisheries unless a clear justification supports divergence, and would develop operational guidance to ensure clarity and uniformity in licence conditions. DFO would also continue to rely on its established enforcement tools — such as patrols, gear inspections, logbooks, and vessel activity data.

The feedback received during the regional committee meetings was positive, with some stakeholders indicating that this change was long overdue.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

DFO sent letters to Indigenous chiefs and council and Indigenous organizations inviting them to consult on the proposed amendments by completing the survey or scheduling a meeting. The Department received 11 survey responses from Indigenous licence holders, and one Indigenous consultation body responded via letter. No meetings were requested. All feedback received from Indigenous stakeholders was in favour of the proposed amendments, many citing safety and not being required to be at sea in bad weather as a key benefit.

As required by the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, an assessment of modern treaty implications was conducted for the proposed amendments. The assessment concluded that there is a low risk that this proposal will impact the rights, interests, and/or self-government provisions of modern treaty partners.

Instrument choice

Parliament recognized that fishery conditions and scientific advice can shift rapidly and provided long-standing powers to adjust fisheries management measures accordingly. The rigid soak time provisions do not reflect this intent; hence, the proposed amendments seek to restore alignment with the Fisheries Act’s purpose by enabling timely, tailored adjustments.

Under section 43.4 of the Act, it is an offence not to comply with the conditions of licence. Licence conditions are deliberately adaptable tools, enabling timely updates to reflect evolving ecological, social, and management realities. Incorporating defined “soak time” intervals within licence conditions therefore represents a more effective and flexible mechanism for implementing and, where appropriate, revising conservation measures in a manner consistent with the Act’s objectives to “provide a framework for (a) the proper management and control of fisheries; and (b) the conservation and protection of fish and fish habitat.”

The FGR authorizes the Minister to include conditions in a fishing licence related to the type, size, and quantity of fishing gear that is permitted to be used and the manner in which it is permitted to be used, which includes soak time. In fact, this authority has been used to prescribe soak times as a condition of licence, since the soak time provisions of the Pacific Fishery Regulations, 1993 were repealed in 1999.

Under the FGR, conditions of licence must be consistent with all applicable regulatory provisions. Repealing the soak time provisions of the AFR, MPFR and NLFR will allow the Minister to establish conditions of licence respecting soak time limits.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

Costs

The current requirements of the AFR, MPFR and NLFR specify the soak times in the regulations. The prescribed soak time requirements apply to all fixed gear types (e.g. traps, pots, gillnets, and longlines) in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and coastal and offshore marine fisheries in Nunavut. The proposed amendments would repeal the soak time requirements in those regulations and implement them through fishing conditions of licence, an existing regulatory mechanism under the FGR. Consequently, there would be no incremental costs to Canadians or Canadian businesses as a result of the proposed amendments.

As the soak time requirements would be enforced through existing conditions of licence enforcement processes, no incremental compliance promotion and enforcement costs to the government are anticipated.

Benefits

Implementing soak times through conditions of licence would enable DFO, informed by operational guidance, to tailor soak time requirements to the risks associated with specific fisheries and fleets, taking into account ecological, operational, and economic considerations. This approach would provide fish harvesters with flexibility by better aligning the soak times with their fishing practices, supporting efficient fishing operations while maintaining conservation and safety objectives.

However, since the soak times would be specified in the conditions of licence, an existing regulatory tool, these incremental benefits are outside the scope of the cost-benefit analysis.

Small business lens

The proposed amendments would repeal the soak time requirements in the AFR, MPFR, and NLFR and implement them through fishing conditions of licence, an existing regulatory mechanism under the FGR. Thus, the proposed amendments are not anticipated to result in any incremental impacts on Canadian small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The proposed amendments are not anticipated to result in any increase in administrative burden, as soak times would be contained in licence conditions.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The soak time provisions of the Pacific Fishery Regulations, 1993, were repealed in 1999, and all soak times have been prescribed as a condition of licence since that time. This regulatory proposal would therefore align east coast fisheries with the practice established on the west coast.

The United States does not have a universal regulatory requirement for soak time. Instead, limits are embedded within fishery-specific management plans, National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) regulations, and licence conditions. For example, the American lobster fishery under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Regulations requires traps to be hauled at least once every 30 days. While the United States maintains that its fixed gear fisheries do not typically exceed a 72 consecutive hour soak time in practice, this is a customary norm rather than a mandated standard.

International obligations

The proposed amendments are not related to any international obligations.

Effects on the environment

A Climate, Nature and Economy Lens analysis was conducted. No negative climate, nature or economy impacts are expected.

Gender-based analysis plus

The gender-based analysis plus supports the conclusion that the proposed amendments have minimal demographic implications and is consistent with an inclusive and equitable regulatory approach.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

Within DFO’s fisheries management annual cycle, conditions of licence are a tool that are legally binding on licence holders and that are used to give effect to fisheries management decisions for a specific fishing season. While regional differences exist, the development and issuance of licence conditions generally follow a consistent process aligned with the fisheries management sequence.

To ensure continuity of the soak-time requirements and to avoid a regulatory gap upon the coming into force of the proposed amendments, DFO would establish the existing regulatory soak time requirements as conditions of licence in advance. As a result, all fisheries would retain the same soak time requirements currently prescribed in regulations, unless or until changes are made following an assessment.

Compliance and enforcement

The proposed amendments would not change how DFO ensures compliance with fishing requirements. Once soak times are prescribed through licence conditions, harvesters would continue to be required to comply with all terms and conditions of their licence under section 43.4 of the Fisheries Act. Compliance would continue to be monitored through existing tools, such as at sea and dockside monitoring, review of gear deployment, and vessel activity data. Operational guidance will be developed to support consistent application of soak time conditions across regions.

Currently, soak time requirements are enforceable as ticketable offences under the Contraventions Regulations. The set fine is $500 for contraventions of sections 8 of the NLFR and 115.2 of the AFR, and $250 for contraventions of section 27 of the MPFR. By comparison, failure to comply with a condition of licence is subject to a $750 set fine. If non-compliance is detected, fishery officers would retain the full suite of enforcement measures available to them under the Fisheries Act, including warnings, licence suspensions, seizures, and charges.

Contact

Denis Madore
Manager
Eastern Canada Commercial Licensing Policy
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Email: Denis.Madore@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is given that the Governor in Council proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Fisheries Act (Unattended Fishing Gear) under paragraph 43(1)(e)^{footnote a} of the Fisheries Act ^{footnote b}.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. They are strongly encouraged to use the online commenting feature that is available on the Canada Gazette website but if they use email, mail or any other means, the representations should cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to Denis Madore, Manager, Fisheries Policy, Fisheries and International Policy, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E6. (email: denis.madore@dfo-mpo.gc.ca).

Ottawa, June 19, 2026

Janna Rinaldi
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Fisheries Act (Unattended Fishing Gear)

Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Regulations

1 Section 3 of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Regulations ^{footnote 1} is replaced by the following:

3 Only sections 2, 21, 24.1, 29, 36 and 41 apply in respect of fishing and related activities carried out under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

2 Section 8 of the Regulations is repealed.

Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985

3 Section 115.2 of the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 ^{footnote 2} is repealed.

Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations

4 Subsection 3(3) of the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations ^{footnote 3} is replaced by the following:

(3) Except for this section and sections 2, 4, 6, 18, 19, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 34, 35, 39, 56, 58 and 68, these Regulations do not apply with respect to fishing and related activities carried out under the authority of a licence issued under the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

5 Section 27 of the Regulations is repealed.

Coming into Force

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

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