The act has been undergoing major regulatory revisions in recent years, including those attached to treaty rights of Miꞌkmaq in Atlantic Canada.
Since confederation, the British North America Act established all coastal and inland fisheries as being under the jurisdiction of the federal level of government.
These were diminished in the late 1800s by Britain's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled that these were more the responsibility of provincial governments.
The 1905 copy of the Revised Statutes of Canada has a copy of the Fisheries Act, the minister was empowered to appoint fisheries officers to oversee fisheries, enabled the Minister to create a licensing system for fishermen, broadly prohibited whaling with the exception of instances approved by the minister, statutorily banned seine nets for use in cod or mackerel fishing, established prohibitions on salmon and trout fishing by means of a closed season and banned use of swing nets in salmon fishing, protected salmon spawning zones, regulated lobster licenses, gave officials the authority to impound illegally caught fish, banning dams in fishing rivers except as approved by government or for eel weirs, banning using fish as fertilizer, banning certain types of materials from being disposed into waterways, creating a broad regulatory authority for the minister, and creating offences and penalties.
The Act notably did separate out First Nations as being capable of being given special dispensation for spearfishing by the minister, a likely acknowledgment of treaty rights.
[10] The reforms to the Fisheries Act by the Harper government were controversial, including placing a reduced importance on habitat conservation and ecology, and making it easier to construct pipelines.The government acknowledged potential environmental costs but highlighted its important role in balancing those costs with economic benefits.
In general, the act's revisions shifted focus away from punishing companies for degradation of fish habitat to punishment only in the cases of serious harms to fish themselves, a standard less likely to happen and more difficult to prove[11][12] The Liberals, under Justin Trudeau, unseated the Harper government, and in 2018, the Trudeau government revised the Act to provide for clearer permit requirements, the incorporation of policies into regulations, provisions to protect biodiversity, Indigenous participation on habitat decisions, and the requirement to rebuild fish habitats.
The New Democrats and Greens both supported the bill in debate at the Second Reading stage, with the NDP being particularly motivated by changes respecting Pacific Salmon and Indigenous Knowledge.
[14] In a sitting, most Senate amendments were agreed to by the Commons, and addressed, shark finning, definitions of habitat, and language regarding Indigenous Rights.
In the wake of the Marshall decision, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was obligated by the courts to promulgate regulations on how Mi'kmaw communities could fish to provide for themselves a "moderate livelihood".
[20][21][22][23] There have been disputes as to the proper amount of allowable catch in Pacific Herring industries to be able to sustain the fish stock.