With consultation from industry, a review of the fish buyer and fish processor licensing policy by the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is drawing to a close.
“We need a fair and modern licensing policy in Nova Scotia — one that supports the seafood industry, inspires investor confidence and generates economic returns for fishing communities,” said JoAnn Alberstat, communications advisor for the Department.
“The fish buyer, fish processor licensing review was started by a previous government, and we are pleased that, after significant consultation with the industry associations and individual licence holders, we are nearing the end of the review,” said Alberstat.
“We appreciate the time that industry has taken to provide feedback and help inform our work. Our intent is to implement new regulations and policy when we have completed our consultations. When we have an update on the review and next steps, we will share it with our industry partners,” she said.
“This is really quite an important review of policy framework that’s on the go,” said Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.
“At this stage, we’ve been very heavily engaged with the province on this. We’ve been engaged through both the Nova Scotia Seafood Processors advisory committee, as well as directly with other associations, and the communication has been very good. [The province] has been very receptive to concerns so far. They’ve been receptive to approaches. Now we’re at the position of waiting to see what comes up next so to speak,” said Vascotto.
Vascotto said the province provided industry with a technical briefing late last year, which described the framework approach that was being used.
“We held consultation sessions that members participated in and asked what do you think in terms if you had this on the table and we took those discussions away and brought them back to the department,” said Vascotto.
Vascotto said the province has been “very responsible” throughout the licence policy framework review process.
“It’s not one of those situations where we are being delivered something that has been fully developed and being told to accept it. We’re actually being able to communicate our concerns that members are raising. I really give the province credibility for creating that environment. I take my hat off to the province on this one,” he said.
Vascotto said the province has given industry a tentative date of 2025 when the policy framework will take off.
“It’s coming quickly but there’s still time to be patient and make sure we do the right thing for the industry. It’s about them trying to find a balance that fits the needs of the industry as a whole… Trying to find that sweet spot where we can speak to those things that we all agree on simply because we want to make sure when we’re working on this, we want to find a solution that fits for as many as possible.”
