Bill C-237 Fisheries Act (Atlantic Groundfish Fisheries)
C-237 An Act to Amend the Fisheries Act (Atlantic Groundfish Fisheries)
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Jonathan Rowe (Terra Nova—The Peninsulas)
Status: Defeated — February 25, 2026.
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WHO GAINS POWER
- The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans gains a mandatory obligation to develop a catch monitoring system within one year — tracking species, numbers, time and location of catches
- Recreational groundfish fishers across Atlantic provinces gain predictability — close times must be harmonized and can only be set around spawning periods
- The public gains advance notice — close times and fishing quotas must be published online at least two months before taking effect
- Parliament gains improved oversight — the Minister must table an annual report on administration and enforcement of the Fisheries Act
WHO LOSES POWER
- The Minister loses flexibility to set close times unilaterally outside of spawning periods for recreational groundfish fisheries
- Fisheries managers lose the ability to impose last-minute close times or quota changes — the two-month publication requirement limits reactive decision-making
- ⚠️ The monitoring system is developed "in consultation with key stakeholders" — but stakeholders are not defined, leaving Government to determine who has a seat at the table
WHO GAINS MONEY
- The Bill contemplates that monitoring system costs could be offset by existing fees and penalties — potentially reducing the net cost to taxpayers
- Recreational fishers may benefit from reduced fees as an incentive for timely reporting — but this is identified only as a possibility, not a requirement
WHO LOSES MONEY
- The federal government bears the cost of developing the monitoring system within one year — no budget is specified
- Fishers who do not meet reporting obligations may face fees or penalties — details left to regulation
THE CATCH
- This Bill applies only to Atlantic groundfish recreational fisheries — commercial fisheries are not covered by the harmonization requirement
- Close times can only be set in relation to spawning periods — this restricts Government's ability to close fisheries for other conservation reasons in the recreational sector
- ⚠️ The monitoring system design is left almost entirely to the Minister — the Bill sets a one-year deadline and broad factors to consider, but no binding standards for what the system must capture or how data must be used
- The Bill was defeated at second reading — it never became Law