Policy with Purpose: The Contribution of a Legal Perspective to Define and Secure a Small-Scale Fisheries Regime in Canada

Despite over 150 years of federal statutory governance of Canadian fisheries, the Canadian government does not have a statutory or regulatory regime for managing—or even defining—small-scale fisheries. These fisheries have been de facto managed in the context of larger fisheries, or on an ad hoc basis, instead of being governed with legislation that provides special considerations for small-scale fisheries as a valuable fisheries sector. This regulatory gap raises the question of whether Canadian small-scale fisheries require or could benefit from their own purpose-made regulatory scheme. This chapter examines the importance of legally defining small-scale fisheries for the purpose of effective governance, including what factors contribute to defining such fisheries at a statutory level and how the SSF Guidelines interface with Canada’s current fisheries governance mandate. Constitutional history and Canadian legal principles reviewed in this chapter will provide a foundational legal understanding of Canadian fisheries. Statutes, regulations, policy documents, and jurisprudence will provide a description of the current indirect approach to Canadian small-scale fisheries governance. This chapter lays the foundation for defining and regulating small-scale fisheries in Canada, examines the benefits of such a system for this class of fisheries, and outlines potential roadblocks to developing such regulations.