C-25724369Elizabeth II2020An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture)An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture)202011

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Mr. Johns432023

SUMMARYThis enactment amends the Fisheries Act to prohibit finfish aquaculture for commercial purposes in Canadian fisheries waters off the Pacific Coast except when it is carried out in closed containment facilities. It also requires the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to prepare, table in Parliament and implement a plan to support the transition to the use of closed containment facilities and to protect the jobs and financial security of workers in that sector.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:R.S., c. F-14Fisheries Act

1Section 2 of the Fisheries Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:closed containment facility means a solid wall structure, either onshore or offshore, for the culture of fish that prevents those fish and their parasites, as well as waste and other pollutants, from escaping into the surrounding marine systems; (parc clos)

2Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):Finfish — closed containment aquaculture(1.01)The Minister may issue or authorize to be issued under this Act a licence for finfish aquaculture in Canadian fisheries waters off the Pacific Coast for commercial purposes only if it is carried out in a closed containment facility.

3The Act is amended by adding the following after section 25:

Finfish aquaculture26No person shall carry out finfish aquaculture in Canadian fisheries waters off the Pacific Coast except in accordance with a licence issued under subsection 7(1.01).

Transitional Provisions

Transition period4(1)Section 26 of the Fisheries Act, as enacted by section 3 of this Act, does not apply to a person who, on the day on which this Act comes into force, holds a licence for finfish aquaculture that does not require it to be carried out in a closed containment facility.Expiry(2)However, section 26 applies to the holder of the licence on the earlier of the day on which the licence expires and the fourth anniversary of the day on which that section 26 comes into force.

Transition plan5Within 12 months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans must prepare, cause to be laid before both Houses of Parliament and implement a plan for transition to the use of closed containment facilities setting out, among other things, specific support measures for corporations and workers in the finfish aquaculture sector affected by this transition in order to protect the jobs and financial security of those workers, including training and income support through the employment insurance system.