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Part II .

Regulations are amended frequently.

Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with our office that are not yet included in this consolidation.

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Fishing Regulations

made under subsection 53(2) and

Section 113 of the

Wildlife Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 504

O.I.C. 2018-41 (effective April 1, 2018), N.S. Reg. 27/2018

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Citation

Definitions

Types of licence and fees

Terms of licences

Licences required to fish in Provincial waters

Fishing licences not required for residents and non-residents under 16 years of age

Replacement licences

Licences to promote sport fishing industry

Persons with disability

Sport fishing weekends

Vendors or department staff issuing Salmon Fishing Licences

Proof of age and residency

Open seasons, bag limits, possession limits and gear restrictions

Information reports

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Fishing Regulations .

Definitions

2 In these regulations,

“Act” means the Wildlife Act ;

“Atlantic salmon” means Atlantic salmon other than landlocked salmon and includes

a grilse;

“Department” means the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture;

“fishing licence” means a General Fishing Licence or a Salmon Fishing Licence;

“General Fishing Licence” means a licence issued under these regulations

authorizing the person to whom it is issued to angle, by means of a hook and line,

any fish other than Atlantic salmon for which an open season is prescribed under the

Fisheries Act (Canada) and the regulations made under that Act;

“Minister” means the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture;

“open season for angling” means the open season for angling specified in

Section 12

[ sic ];

“Provincial waters” means “Provincial waters” as defined in

Section 53 of the Act;

“Salmon Fishing Licence” means a licence issued under these regulations

authorizing the person to whom it is issued to angle, by means of a hook and line,

Atlantic salmon, and includes any type of seal or tag issued with the licence.

Types of licence and fees

(1) The Minister may issue the following types of fishing licences for the fees stated:

Type of Licence

Term

Age

Fee

Resident General Fishing

Licence

Annual

18-64 years of age

$24.77

65 years of age and over

$5.91

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

1 day

18 years of age and over

$12.16

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

Non-Resident General

Fishing Licence

Annual

18 years of age and over

$31.03

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

1 day

18 years of age and over

$12.16

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

Resident Salmon Fishing

Licence

Annual

18 years of age and over

$37.29

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

1 day

18 years of age and over

$26.86

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

Non-Resident Salmon

Fishing Licence

Annual

18 years of age and over

$137.64

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

7 days

18 years of age and over

$56.12

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

1 day

18 years of age and over

$26.86

16 or 17 years of age

no fee

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), each fee listed in subsection (1) includes a

$5.91 fee to be deposited into the Nova Scotia Sportfish Habitat Fund, a special fund

established under the Finance Act .

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to the fee for a Resident General Fishing Licence

issued for an annual term to a person 65 years of age and over.

Terms of licences

(1) A fishing licence issued for an annual term is valid from April 1 until March 31 of

the following year.

(2) A fishing licence issued for a term of 7 days is valid for 7 consecutive days during

the open season for angling for the species of fish covered by the licence.

(3) A fishing licence issued for a term of 1 day is valid for 1 day during the open season

for angling for the species of fish covered by the licence.

(4) For any fishing licence other than a licence issued for an annual term, a vendor may

issue a person more than 1 licence of the same type in a year, as long as the person is

not issued more than 1 licence of the same type for any of the same dates.

Licences required to fish in Provincial waters

(1) Subject to the licensing provisions for Atlantic salmon in subsection (2), a person 16

years of age or over must not fish or attempt to fish in Provincial waters unless that

person holds

(

a) for a resident, a valid Resident General Fishing Licence;

(

b) for a non-resident, a valid Non-Resident General Fishing Licence.

(2) A person 16 years or older must not fish for Atlantic salmon or attempt to fish for

Atlantic salmon in Provincial waters unless that person holds

(

a) for a resident, a valid Resident Salmon Fishing Licence;

(

b) for a non-resident, a valid Non-Resident Salmon Fishing Licence.

Fishing licences not required for residents and non-residents under 16 years of age

6 A person under 16 years of age is not required to hold a fishing licence to fish in

Provincial waters.

Replacement licences

(1) The fee for a replacement licence under subsection 34(2) of the Act, on receiving

proof from an applicant that a licence issued under these regulations is lost,

destroyed or needs to be replaced for any reason, is $5.00.

(2) A replacement licence issued under subsection (3) [ sic ] has the same force and effect

as the original licence.

Licences to promote sport fishing industry

(1) The Minister, at the Minister’s discretion, may issue a General Fishing Licence or

Salmon Fishing Licence at no cost to promote the sport fishing industry.

(2) An application for a General Fishing Licence or Salmon Fishing Licence under

subsection (1) must be in a form approved by the Minister.

Persons with disability

(1) In this Section, “person with a disability” means a person with a “disability”, as that

(2) Despite the fees set out in

Section 3, the Minister may issue a General Fishing

Licence or Salmon Fishing Licence at no cost to a person with a disability.

(3) To demonstrate that they meet the criteria in subsection (2), a resident or non-resident must produce 1 of the following:

(

a) an identification permit issued in respect of a permanent disability under the

Identification Permits for Vehicles Transporting Mobility Handicapped Persons

Regulations made under the Motor Vehicle Act ;

(

b) a completed application form for an identification permit in respect of a

permanent disability under the Identification Permits For Vehicles Transporting

Mobility Handicapped Persons Regulations (Application for Accessible

Parking Identification Permits and Plates, issued by the Department of

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal);

(

c) proof of registration with an institution for the sight, speech or hearing

impaired;

(

d) written confirmation of being in receipt of, or eligible to receive, benefits from

the Canada Pension Plan Disability Program;

(

e) written confirmation of being in receipt of, or eligible to receive, benefits from

the Disability Support Program under the Social Assistance Act .

Sport fishing weekends

10 Despite subsection 5(1), but still subject to the licensing provisions for Atlantic salmon, a

person is not required to hold a General Fishing Licence to fish in Provincial waters on any

of the following days:

(

a) the third Monday in February (Nova Scotia Heritage Day);

(

b) the Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding the holiday listed in clause

(a);

(

c) the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in June.

Vendors or department staff issuing Salmon Fishing Licences

(1) The Minister may authorize vendors or staff of the Department or the Department of

Natural Resources to sell Salmon Fishing Licences and to issue any applicable tags.

(2) A person authorized to sell Salmon Fishing Licences must not issue

(

a) more tags than the seasonal bag limit for Atlantic salmon as established under

the Fisheries Act (Canada); or

(

b) a numbered tag that does not correspond with the number on the Salmon

Fishing Licence.

Proof of age and residency

12 In addition to producing their licence, as required by subsection 35(1) of the Act, a person

while fishing or attempting to fish must carry and produce proof of age and residency upon

demand by a conservation officer.

Open seasons, bag limits, possession limits and gear restrictions

(1) Open seasons for fishing in Provincial waters are as set out in the regulations that

apply to Provincial waters made under the Fisheries Act (Canada).

(2) Bag limits and possession limits for species, together with fishing methods and gear

restrictions must be in accordance with the regulations that apply to Provincial

waters made under the Fisheries Act (Canada).

Information reports

(1) No later that [than] 7 days after the close of the open season for angling for the

species of fish covered by their licence, a holder of a fishing licence must complete

and submit to the Department any information required by the conditions of the

licence.

(2) In addition to any penalty in accordance with

Section 111 of the Act imposed on a

person for failure to comply with this Section, the Minister may deny the person a

fishing licence in future years.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Fishing Regulations

N.S. Reg. 27/2018

Wildlife Act

Note: The information

in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the

Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Fishing Regulations made under the Wildlife Act includes all of the

following regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

27/2018

April 1, 2018

date specified

Mar 2, 2018

The

following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current

consolidation:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for

rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added

am. = amended

fc. = fee change

ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed

rs . = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

..........................................................

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

Note

Effective

date

The reference to the Department of Natural Resources in

Section 11(1) should be read as a reference to the Department of Lands and

Forestry in accordance with Order in Council 2018-188 under the Public Service Act , R.S.N.S. 1989, c.

Jul 5, 2018

The reference to the Department of Transportation and

Infrastructure Renewal in s. 9(3)(

b) should be read as a reference to the

Department of Transportation and Active Transit in accordance with O.I.C.

2021-56 under the Public Service Act ,

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Feb 23, 2021

The reference to the Department of Transportation and

Infrastructure Renewal in s. 9(3)(

b) should be read as a reference to the

Department of Public Works in accordance with O.I.C. 2021-209 under the Public Service Act , R.S.N.S. 1989, c.

Aug 31, 2021

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

29/1988

Fishing Regulations

Feb 15, 1988

April 1, 2018

Note: Only

regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this

table. It may not reflect the entire

history of regulations on this subject matter.