The Department of Fisheries and Oceans in the Gulf Region

The Gulf Region is distinguished by the fact that it is the only bilingual region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Approximately half its staff members are bilingual, and consequently it is in a good position to serve both its English-speaking and its French-speaking clients.

DFO's Gulf Region comprises six branches: Fisheries Management, Oceans and Science, Policy and Economics, Corporate Services and Human Resources, Communications and Small Crafs Harbours. The Coast Guard programs are administered for the whole of the Maritime Provinces from DFO's offices in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. In all, nearly 400 DFO employees are serving Canadians in the Gulf Region.

DFO's Gulf Region manages the fisheries within its area of responsibility by allocating resources, maintaining surveillance, enforcing regulations and conducting integrated research on fisheries. Its activities are also determined by the local characteristics of the fishing industry in the region. For example, each of the three areas of the Gulf Region (eastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Gulf Nova Scotia) is locally managed, with the support of the central administration in Moncton.

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Fisheries management in the Gulf Region depends to a considerable extent on the cooperation of the fishing industry. In each area, DFO develops integrated fisheries management plans in consultation with committees on which all groups concerned are represented: commercial fishers, the processing sector, provincial governments, Native people or recreational fishers, as the case may be, and takes the recommendations of these committees into account in its licensing strategy.

Lastly, DFO focuses on co-management with the 14 Aboriginal communities located along the coast of the Gulf Region, seeking to foster the employment and training of Aboriginal fishery officers, the conduct of scientific studies and the development of commercial fishing opportunities for members of First Nations.

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Telephone numbers of Fisheries & OceansCanada in the Gulf Region:

• Fisheries Management Branch
  (506) 851-7721
• Oceans and Science Branch
  (506) 851-6204
• Policy and Economics Branch
  (506) 851-7813
• Communications Branch
  (506) 851-7747
• Corporate Services and Human Resources Branch
  (506) 851-6603
• Small Craft Harbours Branch
  (506) 851-6580
• Canadian Coast Guard
  (902) 426-6414
• Eastern New Brunswick Area
  (506) 395-7702
• Prince Edward Island Area
  (902) 566-7810
• Gulf Nova Scotia Area
  (902) 863-5670