Aquaculture: The Legal Framework

P.F. McKenna was librarian at the Police Academy, Brampton, Ontario.

Bruce Wildsmith, an associate professor on the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University, has produced a lengthy examination of the legal considerations which surround the concept and practice of aquaculture. This term refers to the culture or husbandry of aquatic flora and fauna and really amounts to the “farming” of the sea. As the availability of conventional farm land decreases, and as techniques for efficiently cultivating the living resources of the sea are refined, aquaculture will become increasingly more important. The research which Professor Wildsmith has carried out was fostered by the government of Nova Scotia. Through the Minister of Fisheries a contract was negotiated with Dalhousie Law School, Professor Wildsmith acting as project director. The aim of the project was to put aquaculture into a clear legislative framework through the drafting of a model piece of legislation. While this work is not intended as a complete review of the literature or the technical matters embedded in aquaculture, the author recognizes that “the law does not operate in a vacuum.”

Wildsmith begins by looking at the etymology of “aquaculture” and states the definition that he will be using. He goes on to discuss how aquaculture is an activity which inexorably raises questions of international law. More significant, from a Canadian perspective, is the important question of the constitutional jurisdiction to which the author addresses himself. Does aquaculture fall under the legislative authority of the federal or provincial governments? The author moves on to consider the private property and public rights which affect the pursuit of aquaculture. The next two chapters deal with the risks and incentives associated with aquaculture as a business and with aquaculture leases. Wildsmith next discusses some details about federal and provincial legislative provisions and practices relevant to aquaculturists, while the final chapter focuses upon a model act for aquaculture. The text also includes a number of indispensable appendices, which should be of interest to a broad range of readers. The first contains the model act for Nova Scotia formulated by Professor Wildsmith, the second lists Canadian and American sources of information relating to aquaculture. The last two appendices present an insurance policy pertaining to aquaculture and a sample aquaculture lease from Florida. The work includes a very good bibliography of books, pamphlets, documents, and articles on aquaculture. In keeping with his notion that legal topics are not hermetically sealed, Wildsmith has included a number of bibliographic items which originate from outside of the body of conventional legal literature.