General Certification Criteria

• The following criteria will be applied by the Board to all applications for certification and all applications for renewal of certification:
  
  1. an individual employed full-time outside the harvesting sector of the commercial fishery will not be eligible for certification as a professional fish harvester;
  2. certification with the Board must be renewed annually through the payment of the fee set by the Board and the Board has the right to deny, suspend or remove a professional fish harvester's Apprentice, Level I or Level II certificate for failure to pay the fee set by the Board; and,
  3. any person who voluntarily participated in a licence retirement or early retirement program under the Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program (NCARP), The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy (TAGS), or Canadian Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring (CFAR), and in doing so agreed to permanently leave the commercial fishery/fishing industry is not eligible for certification as a professional fish harvester.

• A professional fish harvester who has been denied certification by the Board or who is dissatisfied with his/her category may appeal the Board's decision to an independent appeal board established under the Act.