Marine recreational fishing licence regime for Eastern Canada Consultations 2017

Introduction On May 19, 2017, it was announced that DFO is giving consideration to implement a new marine recreational licencing regime in Eastern Canada. It was also announced that consultations would take place with Provincial representatives, Indigenous groups, anglers, charter boat operators, and other stakeholders. Feedback is required to help fine-tune the proposal for a marine recreational fishing licence: to identify gaps, and provide input and local expertise going forward.

Context The idea to introduce a marine recreational fishing licence in order to improve stock assessments and to promote sustainable management practices is not new: Between 2001-2005 pilot projects were undertaken for a marine recreational licence regime (licences and tags) for groundfish in various parts of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec Discussions were subsequently also held with various groups on the benefits of such a licence; and, in 2016 consultations were held in NL on a proposal to introduce a licence and tags

Rationale The results of the pilot project and the past consultations demonstrate that recreational fishing is very important to the cultural life of local communities, and: There is general agreement that a licence would help improve sustainability and stock assessments, but very little appetite for tags, and concerns have been raised about fee levels. In the Pacific coast, where a marine licence already exists, it has shown to benefit economic development, tourism, guard against overfishing, and at times increased fishing opportunities.

Proposal The timing is opportune as some stocks are recovering (ie. cod in NL, striped bass in NB); and others require special attention (ie. mackerel). The proposal therefore is that: There would be no requirement to purchase tags There would be only one licence for the selected marine species Initially the licence could be offered at no cost to anglers It would have two categories: individual anglers/charter boats Clients on charter boats would be covered by the boat licence The annual licence would cover the period April 1 to March 31 It would be available online, with mandatory reporting of catch Indigenous priority for food/social/ceremonial is unaffected

Discussion If a decision is made to eventually apply a fee to the proposed licence, what should the fee entail in terms of categories of licences, levels of fees, timing of implementation, etc.? The licence would initially apply to groundfish, mackerel, and striped bass (except in Quebec), are there other marine species that should be included? Are there any concerns about mandatory reporting of catch? In the Pacific coast, the licence is issued online, what type support would be needed for such a system in Eastern Canada? What management conditions should be included on the licence? Are there any other issues that should be considered?

Next steps The consultations will be completed by August 17, 2017. The feedback from online submissions, consultations and public meetings will be incorporated to develop options going forward. Contact information: Email at RecFish/PechRec.XNCR@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Mailing address: Recreational Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Station 13S038, 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON K1A-0E6 Background information available at: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Annex: On-line system An online license issuance system for the marine recreational fishery has been in use on the Pacific coast (eg: British Columbia, Yukon) for several years. The system requests background data on the person requesting the licence and then simply prints the licence. The system can be accessed from PCs at home or from public facilities: libraries, community centers, stores, etc. Current users of the system have found it to be user-friendly; but DFO would nonetheless provide user support.