If you’ve been waiting for a fish buying or processing license, you’ll soon be able to apply.

Nova Scotia is lifting the moratorium on issuing new licenses, which has been in place since 2018, according to a news release from the provincial government.

You’ll be able to apply for most species on August 1, with additional licenses available for lobster buyers, as well as snow crab buyer and processor licenses, on January 2, 2026. It’s unclear when lobster processing license applications will be available.

In 2018, the moratorium was put in place to maintain fair competition and to reduce industry speculation while the province reviewed their policy. They consulted industry representatives over the last seven years.

The fishery is Nova Scotia’s largest exporting industry, representing about 36 per cent of the province’s total exports, and the value of those goods totaled $2.4 billion in 2024. About half of the industry is in the southwest part of the province.

Along with this, the province is lifting the moratorium on groundfish buying and processing licenses, which have been in place since 1994, when the industry collapsed.

More to come…