The Newfoundland and Labrador Aquaculture Regulations, 2025, made under the Aquaculture Act, 2023, set out comprehensive rules governing licensing, facility identification, reporting, animal health management, containment measures, and public transparency in the province’s aquaculture sector. The regulations define key terms such as “cleaner fish,” “commercial licence,” “non-commercial licence,” “controlled aquaculture area,” and “year class.” The registrar is tasked with keeping records of all licences and associated information and may collect and share data necessary for enforcement, licensing, and appeals. Licences are divided into commercial, allowing the harvest and cultivation of aquaculture products, and non-commercial, intended for research, training, food security, or other approved purposes, with harvest permitted only with ministerial approval. Each licence must specify the licensee’s name, facility coordinates, species and ploidy of organisms, expiry date, cultivation methods, and any imposed conditions. Facilities covered by water must be properly marked with buoys displaying the facility’s name and licence number, with mooring lines kept within designated boundaries.

For operations within designated aquaculture management areas, licensees must follow rules on fallowing sites between production cycles, maintaining minimum distances between facilities, stocking size requirements, species and year-class limits, and restrictions on gear movement. Exceptions to single-species and single-year-class rules may be approved where cleaner fish are used or with ministerial authorization. Containment provisions adopt specific sections of the provincial Code of Containment for salmonid culture, requiring proper gear design, installation, handling, monitoring, and inspection. In the event of an escape, licensees must notify required parties immediately, provide health records, and submit a detailed written report within 72 hours, covering the timing, cause, species details, number and size of escaped organisms, and recapture efforts.

The regulations grant the chief aquaculture veterinarian significant authority to set requirements for pest management, biosecurity, fish disposal, contingency planning, handling of diseased products, quarantine use, and facility operations, including wharf designations and compliance with the national Code of Practice for farmed salmonids. The veterinarian can designate controlled aquaculture areas and issue related orders. Licensees must comply with species-specific surveillance and pest management plans, submit samples and diagnostic results, and follow welfare guidelines. Strict biosecurity rules apply to aquaculture gear and vehicles entering the province, requiring prior provision of transport routes, contacts, arrival locations, and completion of biosecurity forms within specified timeframes. Movement of gear within the province must follow approved biosecurity plans.

By consolidating licensing structures, operational standards, health and containment protocols, and public reporting requirements, these regulations establish a robust framework for sustainable aquaculture in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland & Labrador (70/2025) August 12, 2025
Disclaimer: Insights are for informational purposes only and do not reflect RRI’s official position or constitute legal opinion.