Commercial harvest of fish and seafood products has declined since 2003 from CAD 2.6 billion to CAD 1.9 billion in 2005. The overall volume of Canadian commercial landings has also declined from 1.11 million tonnes (mt) in 2003 to 1.02 mt in 2005. The decline in value is due in part to the appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the United States dollar, as the majority of Canadian fish and seafood products are exported to the United States.

Canada uses a variety of instruments to manage fisheries. Those instruments deal with input (e.g. limited entry) or output (Individual Quota) controls and other various types of controls (e.g. by-catch limits, observer coverage). The Species at Risk Act (SARA) 2003 provides a framework for protecting species at risk under Federal jurisdiction. This has resulted in new management measures including by-catch measures or gear modifications to protect specific species.