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Atlantic Region Licences

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Browse this section to find statistics on commercial fishing licences issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the Atlantic Provinces. You will also find information collected through the registration of commercial fishing vessels. Data are available from 1983 onward.

The number of registered commercial fishing vessels in the Atlantic region totaled 14,176 in 2023, a decrease of 1% from 2022, 10% from 2014, 26% from 2004, and 49% from 1983, the earliest year for which comparable records are available. Similar to earlier years, the majority (90%) of the fleet in 2023 consisted of vessels that are less than 45 ft in length. However, the number of vessels less than 35 ft have been decreasing while mid-sized vessels (35-65 ft) have increased.

Changes to vessel restriction policies including increasing the overall length limit of inshore vessels to less than 50 ft (up from 40 ft) have likely contributed to the decrease of smaller vessels in many Atlantic inshore fisheries. For further reading on DFO vessel licencing policies, please refer to What We Heard Report: Vessel and Related Policies that Support Owner-Operator (2024).

The number of individual licence holders in the Atlantic region held relatively stable at 16,169 (less than 1% increase from 2022) and has increased by 1% over the last decade (from 2014). The number of licence holders within each region (Maritimes, Gulf, Newfoundland, and Québec) changed by 1% or less from 2022, and this is also true of licence holders in the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Québec. The number of licence holders in Nova Scotia increased by 5%, and decreased by 6% in New Brunswick.

Licence numbers have declined in part due to policies including Harvest Benefit Combining in the Maritimes Region and retirement of non-reissuable licences.

Individual licence holders were issued a total of 57,240 species-specific commercial fishing licences in 2023, 4% more than the number issued in 2022 but 32% fewer than in 2014 and 34% fewer than in 2004. Lobster (15%), Groundfish (13%), and Herring (12%) represented 40% of commercial licences issued in 2023. In 2022, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) closed the Atlantic Mackerel commercial and bait fisheries to allow the stock to rebuild, and this moratorium was extended through 2023.  Prior to this moratorium in 2021, Atlantic Mackerel licences comprised 10% of Atlantic licence issuances, with 8,431 licences issued.

Data tables:

Licence holders

(number of commercial fish harvesters registered)

Species information

(number of commercial fishing licences issued, by species)

Vessel information

(number of commercial fishing vessels registered, by size)
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