Research Licence Pre-Approved Assessments and Salvages

Overview

Research Licence Pre-Approved Assessments and Salvages (RL-PAAS) is a streamlined research licence opportunity for anyone (person, agency, company or institution) conducting certain types of fisheries work in Alberta.

The RL-PAAS licence is designed to address low-risk, but generally high-volume, fisheries projects that include fish inventory assessments – following the Standard for Sampling Small Stream in Alberta – and fish rescues or salvages, as per the current conditions and best management practices of a Fisheries Research Licence.

This licence is intended to reduce the number of individual applications for Fisheries Research Licences reducing the time to acquire or amend low-risk salvage or assessment Fish Research Licences.

Eligibility

Anyone (person, agency, company, or institution) is eligible to enrol into the RL-PAAS program if they:

• follow and adhere to all necessary research licensing steps and procedures including the application, use, and data reporting
• ensure all data loadforms are submitted on time and meet all reporting standards
• all permitted work is conducted by or under the direct supervision of a Qualified Aquatic Environmental Specialist (QAES)

Important: Any outstanding research licence data returns, other research licensing conditions of non-compliance, or active research licence enforcement investigations may result in delays with the issuance, and renewal, or becoming non-eligible for a RL-PAAS Licence.

How to apply

The RL-PAAS Application Period is open February 1 to March 25 annually, to ensure licence issuance by April 1. Any RL-PAAS applications received after the application period are subject to delay in issuance.

• Download and complete the RL-PAAS Application Form
• Email your completed RL-PAAS application form to: [email protected]

Reference materials

• Review all RL-PAAS reference materials, including:
  • RL-PAAS Fact Sheet
  • RL-PAAS Flow Diagram – Flow diagram to quickly navigate the necessary steps for RL-PAAS licence use.
  • RL-PAAS Decision-Tree – To be used with the Flow Diagram to quickly navigate the necessary steps for RL-PAAS licence use.
  • RL-PAAS How to Notify and ‘Approval in Writing’ Process Guide – Document listing step-by-step instructions and examples for properly using the RL-PAAS licence.
• Fisheries and Wildlife Management Area contacts

Reminder: The appropriate District Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Office(s) must be contacted on all RL-PAAS licensed projects. Refer to the RL-PAAS How to Notify and ‘Approval in Writing’ Process Guide for details.

Submit data

All data collected under the authority of a RL-PAAS licence are required to be submitted for upload into the Alberta provincial Fisheries and Wildlife Management Information System (FWMIS) database.

Learn about the data reporting process by reading the FWMIS overview.

Review the FWMIS data submission guide and the examples of completed loadform types:

• FWMIS Fisheries Loadforms
• FWMIS Data Submission Guide

Ensure to use the FWMIS Loadform check tool before submission to identify common errors and formatting issues.

• FWMIS Loadform Check Tool

Email us your completed FWMIS loadform referencing tracking number.

Related

• Fisheries and Wildlife Internet Mapping Tool – External
• Fisheries and Wildlife Internet Mapping Tool – Internal