| Pêches et Océans Canada | |
 | |
 | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1868 |
| Type | Department responsible for
|
| Jurisdiction | Canada |
| Employees | 14,716 (2024)[1] |
| Annual budget | $4.1 billion (2023–24)[1] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Minister responsible |
|
| Website | www |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO;French:Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO)[NB 1] is adepartment of theGovernment of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters. Its mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's fisheries resources while continuing to provide safe, effective and environmentally sound marine services that are responsive to the needs of Canadians in a global economy.
The federal government is constitutionally mandated for the conservation and protection of fisheries resources in all Canadian fisheries waters. However, the department is largely focused on the conservation and allotment of harvests of salt waterfisheries on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts of Canada. The department works toward the conservation and protection of inland freshwater fisheries, such as on theGreat Lakes andLake Winnipeg, through cooperative agreements with various provinces. Provincial governments have enacted provincial fisheries legislation for the licensing of their fisheries. With the exception of Saskatchewan, conservation rules for freshwater fisheries are enacted under theFisheries Act; six provinces administer these regulations in their own fisheries.
To address the need for conservation, the department has an extensive science branch, with research institutes across the country. Typically the science branch provides evidence of the need for conservation of various species, which are then regulated by the department. DFO also maintains a large enforcement branch withpeace officers (known as fishery officers) used to combat poaching and foreignoverfishing within Canada'sExclusive Economic Zone.
DFO is responsible for several organizations, including the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and theCanadian Hydrographic Service.
The Department of Marine and Fisheries was created on July 1, 1867, although it did not receive legislative authority until May 22, 1868. The department's political representative inParliament was theminister of marine and fisheries, with the first minister having beenPeter Mitchell. The department was headquartered in the Centre Block ofParliament Hill until thefire of 1916, after which it was moved into the West Block and then off Parliament Hill entirely when new government office buildings were constructed inOttawa.
DFO is organized into seven administrative regions[3] which collectively cover all provinces and territories of Canada.
| Region name | Area of responsibility |
|---|---|
| Pacific | British Columbia, Yukon |
| Ontario and prairie | Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario |
| Arctic | Northwest Territories, |
| Quebec | Quebec |
| Gulf | Prince Edward Island, Gulf of Saint Lawrencewatershed (New Brunswick,Nova Scotia) |
| Maritimes | Bay of Fundy watershed (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia), Atlantic Ocean watershed (Nova Scotia) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland and Labrador |
The department's responsibilities were described as follows:
Sea-Coast and Inland Fisheries,Trinity Houses, Trinity Boards, Pilots, Decayed Pilots Funds, Beacons, Buoys, Lights and Lighthouses and their maintenance, Harbours, Ports, Piers, Wharves, Steamers and Vessels belonging to the Government of Canada, except gunboats or other vessels of war, harbour commissioners, harbour masters, classification of vessels, examination and granting of certificates of masters and mates, and others in the merchant service, shipping masters and shipping offices, inspection of steamboats and board of steamboat inspection, enquiries into causes of shipwrecks, establishment, regulation and maintenance of marine and seamen hospitals, and care of distressed seamen, and generally such matters as refer to the marine and navigation of Canada.[4]
Responsibility for the construction and operation ofcanals was given to thedepartment of public works at the time ofconfederation, with the canals of theUnited Province of Canada having been previously operated by that colony's department of public works.
In its early days, one of the department's most active agencies was the operation of the Marine Service of Canada, which became the forerunner to theCanadian Coast Guard, with vessels dedicated to performing maintenance of buoys and lighthouses. Whereas fisheries management was not as important as it became in the latter part of the 20th century, a major responsibility for the Department of Marine and Fisheries included the provisioning of rescue stations and facilities at the shipwreck sites ofSable Island andSt. Paul Island off Nova Scotia.
The department also had responsibility for overseeing the qualification of apprenticing sailors who desired to become mates or shipping masters, as well as several marine police forces, which attempted to combat illegalcrimping, the trafficking of sailors in human bondage at major ports.
The foray into enforcement saw the department operate the "Dominion cruisers" which were armed enforcement vessels operating for the Fisheries Protection Service of Canada, a continuation of theProvincial Marine enforcement agencies of theBritish North American colonies. These ships and other charteredschooners and the like, would cruise the fishing grounds off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, watching for violations within Canada'sterritorial sea, then only three nautical miles (6 km) from shore.
Prior to theFirst World War, Canada had limited naval forces, with the majority of protection having been provided by the enforcement vessels of the Department of Marine and Fisheries (Dominion Cruisers) or Fisheries Protection Service of Canada, and by Britain'sRoyal Navy.
In 1909–1910, the Department of Marine and Fisheries became linked to efforts to develop a Canadian naval force, when on March 29, 1909, a member of parliament,George Foster, introduced a resolution in theHouse of Commons calling for the establishment of a "Canadian Naval Service". The resolution was not successful; however, on January 12, 1910, the government ofPrime MinisterSir Wilfrid Laurier took Foster's resolution and introduced it as the Naval Service Bill. After a third reading, the bill received royal assent on May 4, 1910, and became theNaval Service Act, administered by the minister of marine and fisheries at the time.
The official title of the navy was the "Naval Service of Canada" (also "Canadian Naval Forces"), and the first Director of the Naval Service of Canada was Rear-AdmiralCharles Kingsmill (Royal Navy, retired), who was previously in charge of the marine service of the Department of Marine and Fisheries. The Naval Service of Canada changed its name to "Royal Canadian Navy" on January 30, 1911, but it was not until August 29, 1911, that the use of "Royal Canadian Navy" was permitted byKing George V.
The Conservation & Protection (C&P) directorate is responsible for fisheries enforcement.[5] The program aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's aquatic resources and the protection of species at risk, fish habitat, and oceans, not always successfully.[6] C&P collaborates with a variety of domestic partners, including theCanadian Coast Guard, other federal departments, other levels of government, industry, First Nations communities, recreational fishing groups, and others. Internationally, C&P participates in or indirectly contributes to more than a dozen regional fisheries management organizations (e.g.,Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization and theNorth Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission).
C&P promotes compliance with legislation, regulations and management measures through education and shared stewardship initiatives; conducts monitoring, control, and surveillance activities using surface vessels, aerial surveillance aircraft and land patrols; and manages major cases and special investigations. The program includes operational enforcement units in DFO's six regions, the National Fisheries Intelligence Service, the National Digital Forensics Service and Program and Operational Readiness.
Enforcement activities are conducted by three types of officials that are designated under theFisheries Act: fishery officers, fishery guardians, and fishery inspectors.
Fishery officers are designated under section 5(1) of the act and defined aspeace officers under theCriminal Code with the authority to enforce all provisions of the act and other related acts (e.g., theCoastal Fisheries Protection Act[7]) and their regulations. There are currently more than 600 fishery officers serving in more than 100 detachments and offices across Canada. DFO's chief fishery officer is the Director General, Conservation & Protection; as of April 2019, the incumbent is Darren Goetze.[8]
Fishery guardians are also designated under section 5(1) of the act and as peace officers but are not necessarily employed by the department. For example, a provincial conservation officer may be designated as a fishery guardian for the purpose of enforcing the act. In general, fishery guardians cannot conduct a search unless authorized by a warrant or conditions are met under the warrantless search provisions of theCriminal Code. Under the Aboriginal Guardian Program, certain First Nations may submit to the minister to designate certain band members as guardians. In October 2017, DFO and the National Indigenous Fisheries Institute (NIFI)[9] launched a full and collaborative review of the department's indigenous programs, including the Aboriginal Guardian Program.[10]
Fishery inspectors are designated under section 38(1) of the act, specifically to enforce the pollution prevention sections of theFisheries Act. They are not peace officers and have limited powersvis-à-vis the other two designations.[11]
The directorate uses theSmith & Wesson Model 5946 as the standard sidearm.[12]
Since confederation, the responsibilities of the original Department of Marine and Fisheries, namely the Fisheries Service and the Marine Service, have transferred to several other departments. The legal name of the department is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It is also referred to as "Fisheries and Oceans Canada" under theFederal Identity Program.
*In 1935, the Department of Marine was merged with theDepartment of Railways and Canals and the Civil Aviation Branch of theDepartment of National Defence to form the Department of Transport, also known asTransport Canada.
Text of each law and its regulations can be found by entering the name of the law at the Canadian Legal Information Institute website.
