Institutional Constraints in Fisheries Management

The management of the Canadian fisheries is under the authority of both federal and provincial governments. While it is common to the Canadian confederation that both levels of government have dual roles in many areas of Canadian life, the situation with respect to the fisheries tends to be more complicated in the intricacies of federal–provincial jurisdiction. The result has led at times to a genuine confusion as to the management prerogatives over the Canadian fisheries.In order to manage the resource it is considered requisite to have an understanding of the legislative prerogatives of the federal and provincial agencies responsible for Canadian fisheries. Such an understanding will serve to outline institutional constraints imposed upon fisheries managers.This paper examines a unique aspect of the fisheries resource that being the nature of the governmental responsibilities in the management of the fisheries. This is achieved through the examination of the evolution of the Canadian federation, the constitution, the legal aspects of the fisheries, and the leading judicial decisions on Canadian fisheries.