Fisheries Management

COVID-19 Maritimes Region fisheries information

Our Fisheries Management operations support an increasingly valuable fishing industry. The Fisheries and Oceans Canada Maritimes Region fishery accounted for 39% of the total Canadian landed value in 2012 (or $757 million) and the second most productive aquaculture region of the country falls under the jurisdiction of the Maritimes Region.

The Fisheries Management Program manages the Region’s fisheries resources, which are harvested for Aboriginal, commercial, and recreational purposes in marine and inland waters. The objective of the Program is to conserve fishery resources, and to manage the fisheries to ensure sustainable use and viability while providing economic benefits to local coastal communities. 

Fisheries Management develops regulations and administers the licensing of fisheries operations, provides conservation, protection and enforcement of fishing activities, and develops Aboriginal fisheries agreements. Our staff consults with the fishing industry through Fisheries Advisory Committees.  Hundreds of these Advisory Committee meetings are held each year, making the fisheries one of the most openly consulted and collaboratively-managed Canadian industries.

The Maritimes Region respects Aboriginal rights to fish, as determined by the Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 Marshall decision and others, such as Sparrow. To address the government's obligations and to encourage increased self-reliance for First Nations, the Department has various programs and initiatives to increase Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities' participation in the Atlantic commercial fishery.

Aquaculture plays an important role in the seafood industry in the Maritimes Region.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in collaboration with their federal and provincial partners and through regulatory regimes, policies and scientific research is helping the aquaculture sector grow in a responsible and sustainable manner in many of the Region’s rural and coastal communities.