In Canada, fisheries policy needs to be as adaptive and responsive to change as the current environmental and market conditions demand. However, any changes to policy needs to be carried out in a fair, transparent manner consistent with ecological, economic and social sustainability. In Eastern Nova Scotia, proposals to change opening and closing dates of the lobster season are been under debate given that such changes could potentially modify how individual fishing enterprises benefit and may also alter the distribution of benefits (i.e. to where and to whom benefits flow). As a need developed by industry, my thesis and work for the CFRN will include interviews with current and former DFO officials, industry participants, and industry representatives in several Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) to provide a ‘report card’ on the governing processes of season change requests.