N.S. minister hopes changes to fish buyer, processor licences will help curb illegal activity

The Nova Scotia government is introducing new licence conditions for fish buyers and processors that officials hope will help crack down on illegal fishing.

Kent Smith, the province's fisheries minister, detailed the changes in a letter that accompanied a package sent to licence holders earlier this month. The package was shared with CBC News.

"I acknowledge that these changes may seem like a lot all at once, however I am confident they will serve to strengthen the department's ability to support the sector without unduly adding excessive administrative burden to you, the licence holder," Smith writes.

Changes include moving to two-year terms and aligning processor licences with Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements. Processors will also be required to report the source location of fish and fish products entering the facility and the location of sales at both the provincial and country level.

But the biggest changes focus on Nova Scotia's king crustacean, lobster.

Lobster buyers will be required to provide the locations and details pertaining to all holding and handling facilities they own, lease or use. Licence holders will only be allowed to store and/or handle their lobsters at facilities listed on their buyer's licence.

Smith's letter to licence holders also says that people can expect more facility inspections beginning in 2025, with provincial conservation officers requesting records and a plan to increase the auditing of those records.

"It is our goal to actively scrutinize more records in greater detail and from more operations in Nova Scotia," he writes.

In an interview, Smith said it's all part of the effort to reduce illegal fishing, an issue at the top of the priority list for his department and members of the industry.

"We've said all along throughout this whole crisis of illegal fishing that we were going to do everything that we possibly could to be proactive in finding a solution," he said.

"It's about protecting this industry and making sure that all the proper reporting that we feel is relevant is documented."

Difficult to track activity without data

That reporting will now include lobster purchases from other buyers and the location of sales, along with monthly information from lobster buyers about the amount of dead loss. Buyers will also be required to record information on dead loss every day.

Osborne Burke, general manager of Victoria Co-op Fisheries and president of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, said the changes might present some extra paperwork, but he said it's worth it if it helps deter illegal activity.

"It's a step in the right direction in trying to better control unreported cash sales, get a better handle on what's coming in," he said in an interview.

"If you can track what's being landed and you can track what's being shipped, numbers should all balance out. When you don't know what you have coming in the door, it's difficult to track it."

Smith said the new requirement for tracking and reporting dead loss is about filling in data gaps.

A need for Ottawa and the province to both step up

No one wants dead lobster, Burke said, but it's good information to have because it could help identify issues.

"Every pound lost is a loss of value to us as the industry and to the province from an export point of view," he said.

The new licence conditions come amid a growing war of words between the provincial government and Ottawa about who is doing what to address illegal lobster catches and sales.

The province is responsible for what happens on land, with jurisdiction over buyers and processors, while Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for monitoring and enforcing activity on the water.

DFO was recently ordered to improve gear for fisheries officers to help counter the dangerous and aggressive conditions they've been facing on the water. The situation prompted some fisheries officers to refuse work.

Smith said the province is doing what it can in the areas where it has jurisdiction and he believes it will help, but he said it needs to be met with increased action from Ottawa.