News release

Recommendations on Aquaculture Regulations

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Province is moving forward with recommendations from an advisory committee to improve aquaculture regulations in Nova Scotia.

A report from the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Regulatory Advisory Committee, released today, March 17, finds the sector’s current regulatory framework is a good foundation. It makes 17 recommendations for improvements.

“Our aim is to support low-impact, sustainable growth in Nova Scotia’s aquaculture industry,” said Steve Craig, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “These recommendations are the result of extensive consultation and will guide us in making improvements. I thank the committee and everyone who participated for sharing their insight to help us with this important work.”

There are three themes in the recommendations:

  • applying the right level of regulation to both small and large operations
  • sharing more information and making it easier to find and understand for better transparency
  • creating more opportunity for public participation in the application process for licences.

The current aquaculture regulations, developed following an independent review, have been in place since 2015.

Quick Facts:

  • consulting firm Davis Pier facilitated stakeholder and public consultation for the aquaculture regulatory review
  • there were 988 survey responses and representatives from the aquaculture sector, fish harvesters, environmental and community groups, municipalities and academia were consulted
  • there are 235 marine and land-based aquaculture sites in Nova Scotia
  • the aquaculture industry employs about 900 people and contributes more than $80 million per year to Nova Scotia’s economy

Additional Resources:

Aquaculture Regulatory Review: Final Report and Recommendations: https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/laws-regs/docs/regulatory-review-final-report.pdf

What We Heard Summary Report and more information on the regulatory review:
https://novascotia.ca/fish/aquaculture/laws-regs/docs/regulatory-review-what-we-heard-summary-report.pdf

News release – Public Consultation on Aquaculture Regulations: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220809001

Mandate Letter of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-FA.pdf

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