British Columbia's aquaculture regulations to stay until mid-December

The British Columbia Supreme Court (BCSC) announced on January 26, 2010, that the current management regime and regulatory framework governing the aquaculture industry in the Canadian province will remain in effect until December 18, 2010.

This will provide the federal government additional time to develop and implement a new federal regulation and regulatory framework under the Fisheries Act.

Last year, the BCSC held that the activity of finfish aquaculture is a fishery and falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The court ordered that the existing largely provincially-managed aquaculture regulatory regime be maintained until February 10, 2010.

Recently, the Government of Canada had filed for an extension of the court-imposed deadline to allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) more time to develop a new regulatory regime for the management of aquaculture in British Columbia.

The BCSC imposed a restriction on the extension and ordered that the province issues no licences for new fish farms in British Columbia, and that they not extend the areas within which licensed fish farms are permitted to operate as of February 9, 2010.

In the event that the restriction creates difficulties for the parties or intervener, the court has indicated that they could propose consent orders for the efficient management of aquaculture activities or, if necessary, they could reappear before the Court for modifications to the extension order.