The main responsibilities for the Licensing, Inspections & Quality Assurance Division include:

• Administration of the Fisheries Act, Fish Inspection Act, Fish Inspection Administrative Regulations, Fish Inspection Operations Regulations and the Fish Ticket Offences Regulations.
• Performing all administrative functions associated with processing an application, including coordination or application review and completion of analysis to inform a licensing decision by the Minister.
• Delivery of the Quality Assurance Program including inspection of unprocessed fish (including shellfish) at dockside, onboard vessels, transports and within processing plants to assess quality;
• Conducting inspections of docked vessels, vehicles transporting fish (including shellfish) and processing plants to assess and enforce compliance with regulations and licensing conditions.
• Collecting and maintaining statistics related to the Newfoundland and Labrador fish processing industry in accordance with the authority under the Fisheries Act; and
• Delivering workshops, seminars to industry stakeholders on ways to improve quality, promoting proper ways to handle/store fish prior to processing, and promoting the province’s marketing efforts.

The main area of responsibilities include:

• Ensuring consistent and fair application of enforcement measures across regions;
• The management and administration of the compliance and enforcement programs delivered through headquarters and district offices;
• Inspections to assess and enforce compliance with the Fish Inspection Act and associated regulations;
• Initiate enforcement measures including formal warnings, ticketing, administrative penalties and court proceedings; and
• The organization and coordination of audits of fish buyers and processing companies, including financial, production, and purchase statistics.

Contact

Petten Building
30 Strawberry March Road
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6
Tel: (709) 729-3736
Fax: (709) 729-5995