Fishery Notice

On March 31, 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada implemented the Service Fees Act, which required that all Government of Canada departments and agencies annually adjust service fees by the rate of inflation subject to certain exceptions. This change included the cost of licensing fees for all federally-regulated commercial and recreational fisheries across Canada. The annual rate of inflation is determined by the All-items year-over-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada, published by Statistics Canada.

The annual adjustment began in fiscal year 2019-20 (April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020). Fisheries and Oceans Canada implemented the first inflationary increase(2.2 per cent) on March 31, 2020 for all fishing seasons that started on or after April 1, 2020. For 2021 onwards, the annual increase will be applied when licences are issued.

The following fees charged by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard are affected by the Service Fees Act: 
Fisheries licensing fees;
Pacific Salmon Conservation Stamp;
Icebreaking services fee;
Maintenance dredging services tonnage fee;
Marine navigation services fee.

All of the above fees, except for fisheries licensing fees, have already implemented their annual inflationary increases.

Additional Information:
Two fees charged by Fisheries and Oceans Canada are exempt from the Service Fees Act:
-Hydrography fees are exempt under the low-materiality fees regulations.
-Aquaculture licences are only issued in B.C. under the Pacific 

Aquaculture Regulations, which already include an annual adjustment factor that is applied every year to the licence fees.

Vessel and Personal Fisher Registration fees were not affected by the March 31, 2020 increase, because they were made available as of January 1, 2020. However, they will be subject to the inflationary increase beginning in 2021 using the 2020 CPI increase of 2.2 percent. Those fees that were increased in 2020, for fisheries that started after March 31 will see an additional 2 per cent increase (the 2021 CPI) in 2021.

The fee increase will be applied for all fees (registration and other fishing related fees) beginning January 1, 2021. 

The fee increase was initially announced in the Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2017 to 2018 Fees Report, published on March 25, 2019.

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN1367
Sent December 29, 2020 at 0801

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Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on April 26, 2024 at 2216