Information for leaseholders and applicants

• Annual lease fees
• Annual Lease Reports
• Aquaculture Activity Regulations reports
• Lease transfers, other transactions and fee schedule

Annual lease fees

Beginning in 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) moved the collection of annual shellfish aquaculture lease fees to the National Online Licensing System (NOLS), and in doing so stopped accepting payments in person, by mail, or over the phone. All leaseholders are now required to have a current email address on file in order to receive notifications from NOLS.

Annual lease fees become payable each year on April 1, and are due by December 31 of the year in which the invoice was issued. NOLS will send an email notification to each leaseholder when the fees become payable.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will begin the process to cancel all leases that are unpaid after December 31 of each year. If your lease is cancelled for non-payment, a written request to reinstate a lease may be submitted to DFO within 30 days of cancellation. Requests for reinstatement are subject to additional fees.

For password recovery or login assistance, please contact the NOLS helpline at 1-877-535-7307. Note: for security reasons, staff in Charlottetown are unable to assist with password recovery or login assistance.

Annual Lease Reports

All leaseholders are required by contract to submit an Annual Lease Report (ALR) each year. These reports capture data related to the species being cultivated on and harvested from the lease. DFO supplies the ALR each year, and they must be returned within 30 days. Failure to submit an ALR is a violation of the lease contract.

Aquaculture Activity Regulation reports

The submission of a report under Aquaculture Activity Regulation (AAR) is a requirement of the Aquaculture Activity Regulations. AAR reports must be completed by April 1 of each year. These reports capture information on the impacts to fish and fish habitat from activities occurring on the lease. An email is sent early in the new year with instructions on how to access and return the report.

Read more about the Aquaculture Activity Regulations

Lease transfers, other transactions, and fee schedule

Below is a list of transactions a leaseholder is permitted to submit. Paperwork for these requests can be obtained by contacting the PEI Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing Division.

Annual Lease Fee: $10 per acre, minimum of payment of $25

Lease Reinstatement Fee: 10 per cent of the lease rental or $100 (whichever is greater) A leaseholder can request a lease reinstatement within 30 days of being cancelled.

Application Fee: $200
Certain applications require the payment of an application fee.

Request to Assign: $200 per lease (maximum fee of $500 for three or more transfers) A leasehold may submit a Request to Assign if they wish to transfer the lease to a new operator.

Request to Mortgage: $100 per lease (maximum fee of $300 for three or more mortgage assignments)

A leaseholder may submit a Request to Mortgage if they wish to assign the lease to a lending institution for the purpose of borrowing money.

Estate Resolution: $100
An estate has five years from the time of a leaseholder’s death to finalise all outstanding requirements set in the PEI Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing policy. This fee will be charged when an estate is ready to assign the lease to a new operator.

Appeal Deposit: $100
An applicant wishing to appeal a decision must provide a $100 deposit with their appeal request. The deposit will be returned if the appellant is successful. If the decision being appealed is upheld, the deposit is converted to a fee and not returned.

Formation of a Company: $100 per lease (maximum of $300 for three or more leases) An individual may request that their lease be assigned to their newly formed company.

• Submit an application online
• Application review process
• Application types
• How to apply

Online Application Form

The application form at the link below is to be used for the following application types only:

• Boundary Amendment of existing OB or SUR Lease

Please complete all the sections of the form. Incomplete applications are not considered accepted and will delay the processing of your application. Leasing Division staff will be in contact with you regarding fee payment.

Online Application Form

Application review process

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) posts a summary of shellfish lease applications under review for new or amended facilities. This summary provides information on the applicant, the location, size and type of facility, and the species to be cultivated. 

DFO considers many factors when reviewing a proposed shellfish aquaculture operation. For example, is the proposed operation sustainable from an environmental point of view? What are the potential impacts to commercial and recreational fisheries? Will it affect fish health? Is the site suitable? 

When needed, Transport Canada (TC) assesses the application. The goal is to ensure that aquaculture sites do not impede safe navigation and anchorage.

Visit Transport Canada’s website to learn more about the Navigation Protection Program

Prince Edward Island aquaculture lease application process summary

Applying for an aquaculture lease in Prince Edward Island is generally done in four steps. Before submitting an application, applicants should familiarize themselves with all the steps. That way, they will avoid delays and complications.

• Step 1: Primary screening – proposal development
• Step 2: Application – information gathering
• Step 3: Public consultation
• Step 4: Final decision

Step 1: Primary screening – proposal development

The first step is to contact Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to discuss the proposal.

At this stage, DFO assesses the proposal. The Department checks if the proposal complies with existing regulations and policies. Adjacency to existing leases is also considered.

If the proposal is accepted, it moves to Step 2.

Step 2: Application and information gathering

- Application

The client must complete and submit the application using the online form. The application guidelines can help the client complete the application form. The $200 non-refundable application fee is payable by contacting DFO. Please note that once the applicant submits the application, it will not be available to edit. The applicant will receive an email confirming the submission. The email will include the information that was submitted.

DFO will review the application. If the applicant needs to provide further information, DFO will inform him or her in writing. The applicant will have up to 60 days to provide the required information. If the applicant fails to submit the required information within that period, DFO will close the the application. If the client requests an extension, DFO can grant one for exceptional circumstances.

- First Nation consultation

If no further information is required, DFO will move on the next step: consultation with First Nation groups.

- Regulatory review

DFO advisors gather any required information specific to the proposed site to support the regulatory review of the application, including an assessment for commercial quantities of shellfish. This activity may include an audit of all, or part of the information provided in Step 2.

DFO then circulates the complete application and supporting information to the Regulatory Review Network (RRN). This network consists of Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (DFO), Resource Management Division (DFO), Small Craft Harbours (DFO) and Conservation and Protection (DFO).

DFO compiles comments from the RRN, develops a DFO Recommendation and forwards it to the Prince Edward Island Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture - Aquaculture Division, for review and feedback.

A decision on the application is then made.

Step 3:  Public engagement 

DFO will post a summary of the application as a "Consideration for a New/Revised Aquaculture Site" on our website.

The Department will accept public comments on the draft application via email at PEIAquaculture@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. It is important to note that consideration will only be given to public comments as they relate to the PEI Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing Policy, The Fisheries Act and its regulations or other legislation that governs the shellfish aquaculture sector. DFO may require the applicant to respond to concerns gathered through the public engagement process.

The Department will inform the applicant in writing if further information is required. The applicant has up to 60 days from the date of the correspondence from the Department to mitigate any concerns or provide any missing information. If the request for further information cannot be satisfied in that time frame, the application will be considered incomplete and considered closed.

Step 4: Decision

The applicant will be informed of the decision in writing.

The decision may be to deny or approve your application. If the decision is to deny the application, the client will be provided with the opportunity to provide further information prior to an official appeal process. If additional information is provided, the DFO will review and consider the additional information and its potential for a reconsideration of the decision.

If the application is denied, an appeal to the decision can be made, as outlined in Section 20 of the Prince Edward Island Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing Policy.

If your application is approved and no authorization under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act is required, the client will be invited to the DFO office in Charlottetown to sign the lease agreement.

If the proposed aquaculture activity requires authorization under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, the client will be informed of the process required to engage Transport Canada.

When Transport Canada provides the authorization, DFO will invite the client to the DFO office in Charlottetown to sign the lease contract.

Application Types

Please note, the following application types are currently open. Application forms are to be obtained directly from the PEI Aquaculture Leasing Division by emailing PEIAquaculture@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or calling 902-566-7996.

• holding site
• add a species approved for culture
• spat licence
• lease split
• lease transfer
• mortgage assignment
• estate reconciliation

Please use the online form for the following application types. Please note that DFO is only accepting Boundary Amendment Application of existing Off-Bottom (OB) and Surface (SUR) leases at this time.

• Boundary Amendments
• Lease Moves
• Conversion
• New Shellfish Lease

How to Apply

Before submitting an application refer to the PEI Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing Policy, specifically the section regarding eligibility requirements.

View the PEI Shellfish Aquaculture Leasing Policy

Please note that at this time, only certain application types may be open. A notice will be posted on our website when other types of applications may be submitted. These may include moving existing leases, converting existing bottom leases to water column leases and applying for new leases.

To assist you in completing an application, please refer to the Application Guidelines.

For more information or to comment on a specific application, please review the public engagement section

View applications under review and closed applications