Aquaculture Activities Regulations Guidance Document for Owners and Operators

103 Pages·2015·1.97 MB·English

by  Barnett, Jane

Aquaculture Activities Regulations
Guidance Document
for Owners and Operators

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
July, 2015
Table of Contents
Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Scope of Application ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Aquaculture Monitoring Standard ................................................................................................................ 8
Implementation ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Consequences of Non-Compliance ............................................................................................................. 10
Contact Us .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Section-by-Section Guidance ...................................................................................................................... 12
Section 1: Definitions ................................................................................................................. 12
Section 2: Specified substances .................................................................................................. 13
Section 3: Conditions applicable to deposits ............................................................................. 13
Section 4: Aquaculture facility .................................................................................................... 14
Section 5: Drugs .......................................................................................................................... 15
Section 6: Pest control products ................................................................................................ 16
Section 7: Measures to reduce detriment ................................................................................. 19
Section 8: Information required before depositing ................................................................... 22
Section 9: Applications affecting contours of footprint ............................................................. 24
Section 10: Substrate sampling and restocking ........................................................................... 26
Section 11: Visual monitoring of substrate; monitoring and restocking ..................................... 28
Section 12: Notification of Minister ............................................................................................. 30
Section 13: Fish morbidity or mortality ........................................................................................ 31
Section 14: Annual report ............................................................................................................ 34
Section 15: Prescribed works, undertakings, activities and conditions ....................................... 35
Section 16: Annual report ............................................................................................................ 37
Section 17: Paragraph 35(2)(a) of Act .......................................................................................... 38
Section 18: Registration ............................................................................................................... 39
Annex 1:AAR Reporting Template .............................................................................................................. 40
Section I: Aquaculture Owner / Operator Information ............................................................. 40
Section II:Regulatory Reporting Requirements ................................................................................ 41
Annex 2: AAR Application ........................................................................................................................ 49
Annex 3: Regional Aquaculture Management Offices ............................................................................. 51
Annex 4: Reporting a morbidity/mortality event .................................................................................... 52
Annex 5: Drugs and Pesticides Requiring Testing under the AAR (s.13) .................................................. 53
Annex 6: Sampling Guidance for Drugs and Pest Control Products ......................................................... 54
1. General Methods .................................................................................................................... 54
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2. Fish Samples ........................................................................................................................... 54
3. Sediment Samples .................................................................................................................. 55
4. Water Samples ....................................................................................................................... 56
5. Records ................................................................................................................................... 56
6. Specific information requirements include: ........................................................................... 57
Annex 7: Monitoring Standard ................................................................................................................. 58
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 58
Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 58
I. Survey for Baseline Information [AAR section 8] ................................................................... 59
II. Procedures for Monitoring Sediment Free Sulfide [AAR section 10(1)] ................................ 63
III. Visual Recording Procedures [AAR section 11] ...................................................................... 66
Annex 8: Program Protocols for Marine Finfish Environmental Monitoring in British Columbia ........... 68
Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions ........................................................................................ 68
1. Compliance Sampling Locations ............................................................................................. 69
2. Benthic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements ................................................................. 71
3. Video Surveys ......................................................................................................................... 72
4. Sediment Sampling ................................................................................................................. 75
5. Quality Assurance / Quality Control of Sediment Samples .................................................... 80
6. Calibrating the Sulfide (Ag+/S=) Electrode ............................................................................. 81
7. Standardizing the Redox (Pt) Electrode .................................................................................. 84
8. Performing Statistical Analyses .............................................................................................. 85
Annex 9: Monitoring Protocol for Benthic Substrates under Marine Finfish Farms in Newfoundland
and Labrador ............................................................................................................................. 88
Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 88
Scope ................................................................................................................................... 88
Terms and Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 89
Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 90
Trout sites ................................................................................................................................... 92
Amendments ................................................................................................................................... 92
Appendix 1 – Tables .......................................................................................................................... 93
Appendix 2 – Figures......................................................................................................................... 94
Annex 10: Summary of required actions.................................................................................................... 95
Annex 11: Glossary of terms .................................................................................................................... 100

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Disclaimer
The Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR) Guidance Document is for information
only. It is not a substitute for the Fisheries Act or its Regulations. In the event of an
inconsistency between the Guidance Document and the Fisheries Act or its Regulations,
the legislation always prevails. In addition, the Aquaculture Activities Regulations do not
replace or repeal any existing federal or provincial statutes.

Effective Date and Review
The Aquaculture Activities Regulations Guidance Document is effective on the day on
which the Regulations come into force. The Guidance Document will be updated, as
needed, to provide further clarity as the Regulations are implemented. The most recent
version of this document, together with other Aquaculture Activities Regulations-related
documents, can be found on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website.

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Purpose
The purpose of the Guidance Document for Owners and Operators is to provide a clear interpretation of
what the Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR) mean, how they will be implemented, and what
owners and operators need to do to comply with their provisions.
In addition to the Regulations and this Guidance Document, the following instruments will support AAR
implementation:
• An Aquaculture Monitoring Standard (Monitoring Standard), referenced in the Regulations and
therefore required to be followed; and
• An AAR Reporting Template (Annex 1) for licence holders; while it is not mandatory that this
template be used, it provides a convenient checklist for all AAR reporting requirements.
All of these AAR-related documents are available here.

Background
In Canada, aquaculture is managed by different levels of government. Provincial governments are the
primary regulators and leasing authorities for aquaculture (except in British Columbia and Prince Edward
Island), while the federal government has responsibility for navigation, disease prevention affecting
international trade, and the environment under the Fisheries Act and the Health of Animals Act.
On November 25, 2013, amendments were made to the Fisheries Act to focus the habitat protection
provision (s.35) on threats to the productivity of recreational, commercial and Aboriginal fisheries. The
pollution prevention provision (s.36), which prohibits the deposit of deleterious substances into waters
frequented by fish unless permitted by regulation, remained unchanged.
In March 2014, a clear delineation of responsibilities for managing threats from deleterious substances
(under s.36) between Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) was established by
an Order in Council (known as the s.36 designation order). Under the designation order, the Minister of
Environment is the lead minister for all matters related to the deposit of deleterious substances except
in relation to the use of such substances for the purpose of aquaculture management and the
management of aquatic invasive species and aquatic pests. In these areas, the Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans has the lead role.
The Aquaculture Activities Regulations (AAR) are made pursuant to the Ministerial regulation-making
authorities as stated in sections 35(3) and 36(5.2) of the Fisheries Act. These risk-based Regulations were
developed to clarify legalities with respect to the normal operations of an aquaculture facility: those
activities related to the structure and maintenance of the facility itself, and those designed to protect
farmed fish from pests and pathogens entering from the marine environment and to control the transfer
of those pests and pathogens back to wild fish.
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The three classes of substances managed under the AAR [drugs, pesticides and biochemical oxygen-
demanding matter (BOD)] are already managed, for the most part, by provincial and other federal
authorities. Some provinces with marine finfish aquaculture have already established BOD limits to
minimize impacts from organic deposits. Ontario has developed “Sediment Quality Objectives,
Monitoring and Management Response” as conditions of licence for freshwater finfish sites. In addition,
provinces and Health Canada have complementary responsibilities for managing how drugs and
pesticides are used. The AAR brings together all these pieces of provincial and federal legislation for the
greater protection of fish and fish habitat and to bring aquaculture into compliance with the spirit and
intent of the Fisheries Act.

Scope of Application
Application to Fish Farmers
The AAR apply to all aquaculture facilities in Canada which have a provincial or federal licence and
whose operations have the potential to deposit deleterious substances into fish-bearing waters or to
cause serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery or fish that
support those fisheries. The Regulations apply to marine and freshwater finfish (including hatcheries),
and shellfish; however, sections 8-12 relate only to facilities located in tidal waters that cultivate finfish.
Lobster tanks or pounds, herring weirs, or other holding facilities for wild-capture species are not
covered or affected by these Regulations.
The purpose of the Regulations is to provide authorization, under certain conditions, to all affected
facilities to conduct two types of activities:
1. the deposit of deleterious substances (s.36 Fisheries Act). These owner or operators are
authorized to deposit only those drugs permitted for sale under the Food and Drugs Act, only
those pest control products registered or authorized under the Pest Control Products Act, and
only biochemical oxygen demanding matter (e.g., fish food, feces, biofouling material) related to
aquaculture fish production. Owners and operators may deposit drugs and pest control products
only after they have determined that these are the most suitable and effective means of
treating a fish pest or pathogen, and that failure to use these treatments would result in
negative effects for fish health and disease transfer.
2. operational activities that may cause serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial,
recreational or Aboriginal fishery or to species that support those fisheries (s.35 Fisheries Act).
These activities are authorized only if the facility is licensed, and only if the owner or operator of
the facility takes measures to minimize serious harm to those fish and their habitat.
Since the Regulations are risk-based, not all the requirements stipulated in the AAR will apply to every
aquaculture site and not all owners or operators will have to report on every provision. The table in
Annex 2 provides an overview of the scope of application and indicates which sections of the
Regulations apply to what type of aquaculture facility. These requirements are also detailed in the AAR
Reporting Template (in Annex 1).
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The Regulations do not replace or repeal any existing federal or provincial statutes. The Regulations do
not regulate the approval, application, or any other element of drug or pesticide use, or the disposal of
fish waste from fish processing activities.
DFO will not issue any licences or permits under the AAR; rather, the Regulations constitute the
authorization and set conditions for compliance with s.35 and s.36 of the Act. The AAR will not affect the
manner in which aquaculture facilities are currently licensed in any province or territory or by DFO in
British Columbia and Prince Edward Island. The definition of “aquaculture licence” in the Regulations
reflects the status quo.
However, aquaculture facilities that do not have an aquaculture licence (which may be provincial or
federal and includes leases which set conditions of operations) are not covered by the AAR and thus are
subject to the s.35 and s.36 prohibitions and enforcement provisions of the Fisheries Act at all times.
While DFO is responsible for enforcing the AAR, the Department has worked closely with other federal
and provincial authorities in the development of the Regulations to avoid regulatory overlap or
contradiction. The Regulations align with programs and regulatory regimes already existing in provincial
and other federal jurisdictions so as to minimize duplicative administrative requirements, while ensuring
that legislated environmental protection objectives are met. The mitigation and monitoring
requirements under these Regulations codify, as much as possible, industry requirements and practices
already existing under relevant provincial and federal regulatory regimes, while introducing new and
cost-effective measures to allow the federal government to better coordinate the management of
pesticides and drugs used to treat pests and pathogens at aquaculture sites.
Application to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
The Regulations also apply to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) whereby the President of
CFIA is authorized to deposit deleterious substances and to kill fish for the purposes of implementing the
Health of the Animals Act (for example, biofouling, pest, or fish pathogen control in an aquaculture
facility). In the course of these activities, some harm to fish and fish habitat outside the facility may also
occur. The CFIA may ask the owner or operator of a facility to carry out the activity on the Agency’s
behalf. Occasionally, CFIA employees may carry out the activities themselves. In either case, CFIA is also
authorized from a Fisheries Act s.35 and s.36 perspective.
Application to Siting of Aquaculture Facilities
Currently, the AAR only require information that would support siting decisions, where requested by
provinces, at marine finfish sites. For all other types of facilities, DFO would continue to work with
provinces through existing processes (joint site application requirements) to obtain any necessary
information that DFO would need to make assessments of potential threats to fish or fish habitat
(including species protected by the Species At Risk Act). Either through the AAR or other information-
gathering processes, DFO would continue to provide recommendations to provinces to support siting
decisions, using the Regional Aquaculture Management Offices (RAMOs) as the single window to the
provinces.
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Except in British Columbia, DFO’s Fisheries Protection and Species At Risk programs will continue to be
involved in the siting of aquaculture facilities and will continue to review applications and provide the
conclusions of the reviews to licensing authorities, via the RAMOs These Regulations do not change the
responsibilities and obligations of owners and operators under the Species at Risk Act.
Science Review
As knowledge and technology advances, other controls or modifications to existing mitigation measures
and monitoring protocols may be needed. To that end, DFO and federal partners have committed to
undertake a three-year Science Review to support ongoing implementation of the AAR. The DFO
commitment under the Science Review will be coordinated by Aquaculture, Biotechnology and Aquatic
Animal Health Science Branch in Ottawa, and include the expertise of DFO’s National Contaminates
Advisory Group. Core objectives of the Science Review include a review of existing BOD matter
monitoring approaches for freshwater and hard-bottom marine finfish sites and post-deposit drug and
pesticide monitoring approaches. Science advice will also be provided through DFO’s Canadian Science
Advisory Secretariat, and the peer-reviewed scientific analyses and advice will be published on DFO’s
website. The Department will consider recommendations for modifying the Regulations and/or the
Monitoring Standard that come out of these scientific peer review processes, as appropriate.

Aquaculture Monitoring Standard
The Aquaculture Monitoring Standard (Monitoring Standard) is a document incorporated by reference
into the Aquaculture Activities Regulations. "Incorporation by Reference" is a term used to describe a
mechanism which allows a document that is not in the text of the regulations to be made a part of the
regulations. One way to do this would be to reproduce the text of the incorporated document word for
word in the regulations. Alternatively, the title of the document can simply be referred to, making the
contents of that document “incorporated by reference.” The legal effect of incorporation by reference is
to write the words of the incorporated document into the regulations just as if the document had been
reproduced word for word.
The Monitoring Standard is referenced in sections 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the AAR. In order to be in
compliance with the Regulations, owners and operators of marine finfish facilities must use the
procedures described in the Monitoring Standard to conduct the activities described in these sections.
Further guidance on BOD monitoring required by DFO in the provinces of British Columbia and
Newfoundland and Labrador can be found in the protocols in annexes 8 and 9, respectively. Guidance
on BOD monitoring in other provinces or territories may be found in the conditions of licence or other
requirements specific to those jurisdictions.
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Implementation
Within DFO the AAR will be implemented primarily by the Aquaculture Management Directorate, the
Regional Aquaculture Management Offices, with support from Conservation and Protection, Fisheries
Protection Program, Species at Risk Program and Ecosystems and Oceans Science, as follows:
Regional Aquaculture Management Offices (RAMOs)
• The RAMOs will be the key contact for industry interaction;
• They are the intake point for notifications [s.6(d), the reports required by s.8 and s.9,
exceedances of BOD thresholds as per s. 12(3)and the annual reports in s.16]; RAMOs will liaise
with Conservation and Protection (C&P), Fisheries Protection Program (FPP), Ecosystems and
Oceans Science (EOS) to determine morbidity/ mortality and sampling requirements [s.13(2)];
• Each RAMO may develop a list of aquaculture sites in the region, along with names and contact
information of their owners or operators. This list can be used to determine any delinquencies in
annual reporting;
• RAMOs will forward questions from owners and operators regarding the Regulations, the
Guidance Document for Owners and Operators, and the Monitoring Standard to AMD
Headquarters for interpretation.
Aquaculture Management Directorate (AMD): National Oversight
• AMD will maintain national consistency for interpretation and implementation through updates
to the Guidance Document;
• AMD will develop and manage the reporting database ; and
• AMD is responsible for preparation of all public reports.
Conservation and Protection (C&P)
• C&P will work with Environment Canada to ensure appropriate and comprehensive transfer of
compliance and enforcement knowledge during the three-year transition period agreed to by
the two Departments;
• C&P will be the point of entry for owners or operators to report morbidity/mortality events
[s.13(1)], and in consultation with the RAMO and other experts, will provide instructions on
required sampling [s.13(2)] according to the Monitoring Standard;
• If required, and in consultation with the RAMO, the fishery officer may follow up with owners
and operators who are delinquent in filing their annual reports as required in s.16;
• If required, and in consultation with the RAMO where appropriate, compliance and
enforcement actions such as farm-site inspections, investigations, warnings and/or charges for
non-compliance could be taken, and annual inspections of aquaculture sites, based on the
overall Departmental priorities for C&P may also be conducted to verify compliance with the
AAR; and
• Potential enforcement actions could be triggered either directly under the AAR or under the
Fisheries Act s.35, 36, and 49.
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Fisheries Protection Program (FPP), Specifies at Risk Program (SRP) and Fisheries
Management (FM)
• Fisheries Protection Program (FPP), Species at Risk Program (SRP) and Fisheries
Management (FM) will provide input as requested on marine aquaculture siting, based on data
obtained through the AAR (sections 8 and 9), to the RAMO. For all other types of aquaculture
facilities, the RAMO may request input from the other relevant DFO groups on data submitted
via the typical provincial licencing/leasing application process.
• Respecting s.35 provisions of the AAR, FPP may provide additional expert advice on data
interpretation to the RAMO.
Ecosystems and Oceans Science (EOS)
• Aquaculture, Biotechnology and Aquatic Animal Health Science, with the expertise found within
the Environment and Biodiversity Science Branch’s National Contaminants Advisory Group, will
lead the development and implementation of the Science Review to look at post-deposit
monitoring of drugs and pest control products; and
• Provide science advice on BOD matter impacts and monitoring protocols for finfish aquaculture
located in marine environments where sediment sampling cannot reliably be obtained, and
freshwater environments.
• Provide science advice on the procedures to be followed for the collection of wild fish carcasses
for chemical analyses of the active ingredients found in anti-sea lice chemotherapeutant
products.
• Science (Regional) will provide input and science advice on marine aquaculture siting. . This
input will be part of the advice DFO gives to the province as the Department’s contribution to
provincial siting decisions for new aquaculture sites.
• National and Regional EOS to be involved in the post-deposition/treatment triage to determine
morbidity/ mortality and sampling requirements [s.13(2)].

Consequences of Non-Compliance
If any of the conditions of the AAR are breached, then the s. 35 and s. 36 prohibitions of the Act
immediately apply. As a consequence, DFO or cross-designated officials in inland provinces may lay
charges, with offences subject to s.40 of the Act. Offences are punishable on summary conviction to a
fine of up to $8 million and/or imprisonment up to six months, and on an indictable offence, to a fine of
up to $12 million and/or imprisonment up to three years. Any continuing contravention of the AAR
constitutes a separate offence for each day on which the contravention is committed.
Canadians are encouraged at all times to report fisheries violations when they observe them. In any
province or territory, this may be done by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by calling
the provincial numbers found on the DFO web site.
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