Tilapia in Ontario, Canada

[Natalie Desrosiers]

While there is lots of information on Aquaponics on the web, there is not so much on Aquaponics in Canada. When I got interested, I knew I might run into red tape about acquiring fish. Here's what I found out:

 

If you want to use goldfish, there are no regulations. But if you want to use native Ontario fish, there is some regulations.

- As per the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, it is ILLEGAL to take fish from Ontario lakes to put in a home aquaponics system. Also it is IILEGAL to transport live fish.

 

-Getting into aquaculture requires a licence and an inspection by a conservation officer.

 

This was a major obstacle in my quest to get into aquaponics. But after calling around, I finally got talking to the right person.

 

If you’re in Ontario, Canada, call 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

-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.