Acquiring fish legally

[Natalie Desrosiers]

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources administers several licenses under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of Ontario, which replaced the Game and Fish Act January 1, 1999. All fish farms require an Aquaculture Licence, granted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, to culture and sell fish, and some require a license to stock, purchase and transport fish in Ontario. The licence is valid for five (5) years (Moccia, 2000).

 

IT IS ILLEGAL TO :

-Transport live fish, other than baitfish, taken from Ontario waters or to transfer or stock any fish into Ontario’s waters without a special licence to transport or stock fish.

-Take fish by any means other than angling, spear, bow and arrow, net or bait fish trap.

 

After talking to alot of people who didn't know what Aquaponis is, I finally got talking to the right person:

 

Jeff McNaughton at Ministries of Natural Resources 613-258-8426

 

After I explained what Aquaponics is (haha) he clarified that:

-there were no regulations on tilapia because they are not native to Canada

-in order to use trout fingerlings from trout farms, you just had to keep the receipts in case you were ever approached by a conservation officer.

-in order to use perch, trout or sunfish from Ontario waters, you had to catch them with fishing rod (not net) and you needed a “license to transport live fish”. There was no cost for this license and he sent me one in the mail.

 

** If I ever got into selling the fish, there would be different regulations

 

[Calvin Schmidt]

Did he give you any idea as to the costs or requirements to get some of these other licenses?

[Natalie Desrosiers]

No...mind you I didn't ask either.

[Calvin Schmidt]

link to the act you referenced. still looking for costs/requirements yet...
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

[Glenn Cunnington]

Be aware that if you are using perch, etc. from Ontario waters you will likely be required to comply with the Ontario Fishing Regulations. This regulation limits the number of individuals of a species that you are legally able to be in possession of at one time. For species like pumpkinseed or blue gill (sunfish) the limits are quite high and would likely not be an issue. Perch are somewhat more restrictive but not likely enough to cause any issues (possession limits around 50). Trout, walleye, bass all have much lower limits for possession that would likely make the number you could have in your tank not worth the effort.

Just my 2 cents 

[Sergey Dekhtyarenko]

Hi all!

my 2 cents

24.  (1)  A person may, without a licence, engage in aquaculture if the fish are cultured in aquariums. O. Reg. 664/98, s. 24 (1).

(2)  Subsection 51 (1) of the Act does not apply to the buying or selling of goldfish, koi (Cyprinus carpio) and the species of tilapia set out in Schedule B if these fish are bought or sold for the purpose of the aquarium trade. O. Reg. 113/04, s. 1.

(3)  In this section,

“aquarium” means an artificial container used to culture fish for personal use or for the aquarium trade;

“aquarium trade” means the culturing, buying or selling of aquarium, tropical or ornamental fish for the pet or hobby market. O. Reg. 664/98, s. 24 (3).