Seafood industry licensing
Ensuring seafood is safe for human consumption means that individuals and businesses conducting certain activities in the seafood industry (for example: receiving fish, processing fish, etc.) must be licensed.
What activities require a licence?
The following activities within the seafood industry have specific licensing requirements:
- First receivers of commercially-caught fish from a commercial fisher require a fish receiver licence
- Fish, seafood, and aquatic plant processors require a seafood processor licence
- Commercial fishers selling their catch to the general public directly from their harvest vessel, or to restaurants or retail stores, require a fisher vendor licence
What requirements do I need to meet?
While certain activities within the seafood industry may not require a licence, these activities may still be subject to certain requirements. Requirements apply whether you require a licence or not, to conduct any of the following activities:
- Individuals transporting seafood
- Individuals transporting live bivalve molluscs (e.g., live oysters)
- Individuals receiving live bivalve molluscs
- Selling fish and seafood at farmers’ markets or at road-side. Visit your Health Authority for further information:
The Province licenses and regulates certain activities involving commercially-caught fish, once they leave the fisher’s possession. Commercial fisheries prior to that point, are regulated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Seafood industry licences
- A shore-based facility used to receive fish directly from a commercially licensed fisher or a licensed packing vessel
- A vehicle used to receive fish directly from a commercially licensed fisher or a licensed packing vessel
- A vessel used to receive fish directly from a commercially licensed fisher or a licensed packing vessel that does not hold a federal commercial fishing or packing licence
- Individual operating a restaurant or retail store that is regulated under the Food Premises Regulation and is receiving fish directly from a commercial fisher holding a Fisher Vendor licence
- Individual operating a federally registered fish processing facility and is receiving fish directly from a commercial fisher at that facility
- Individual operating a provincially licensed seafood processing facility and is receiving fish directly from a commercial fisher at that facility
- Individual operating a federally licensed commercial fishing (or packing) vessel and is receiving fish directly from a commercial fisher
- Commercial fisher transporting their own catch
- Individual operating a vehicle used to receive fish, for their own personal consumption, directly from a commercial fisher holding a Fisher Vendor licence
- Construction and operational requirements
- Record-keeping requirements
- Requirement to ensure food safety
- Requirement to report unsafe food
- Complete the fish receiver licence application form (PDF)
- Submit with payment to any ServiceBC or FrontCounter BC office.
- a seafood processing facility, or
- a seafood cold-storage facility
- Federally registered fish processing facility
- Restaurant or retail store that is regulated under the Food Premises Regulation and is also processing seafood
- Cold storage facility that is regulated under the Food Premises Regulation and is storing seafood as well as other food commodities
- Marine-based fish farm that is stunning, bleeding and icing on site
- Freshwater-based fish farm that is conducting limited processing (heading, gutting, icing, packaging) for sales to individuals at farm site or temporary food markets
- Facility (e.g., fishing lodges) that is conducting limited processing (heading, gutting, filleting, icing, freezing, packaging) of sport-caught fish
- Commercial fishing vessel that is conducting limited processing (heading, gutting, freezing, packaging) of the fisher’s catch, while at sea
- Export fish or seafood outside of British Columbia, or
- Handle bivalve molluscs (e.g. clams, oysters, etc.), or
- Handle cultured marine fish
- Construction and equipment requirements
- Food safety and sanitation requirements
- Processing requirements
- Record-keeping requirements
- Requirement to ensure food safety
- Requirement to report unsafe food
- Complete the seafood processor licence application form (PDF)
- Submit with payment to any ServiceBC or FrontCounter BC office.
- to the public (for their own consumption), directly from the harvest vessel, or
- to restaurants or retail stores that are regulated under the Food Premises Regulation
- Construction and operational requirements
- Record-keeping requirements
- Requirement to ensure food safety
- Requirement to report unsafe food
- Complete the fisher vendor licence application form (PDF)
- Submit with payment to any ServiceBC or FrontCounter BC office.