Amber Thorpe runs the Maritime Tattoo Festival. (CBC)

The fourth annual Maritime Tattoo Festival wrapped up in Halifax Monday, with organizers arguing the practice should be licensed in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Festival organizers said the three are the only provinces that don't regulate the tattoo and piercing industry.

Amber Thorpe, who started the festival, is originally from Alberta, where tattoo parlours are regulated and inspected by the government. She said a key goal of the festival is to spread a message of cleanliness to fellow tattoo artists.

"It's unreal. I couldn't believe it when I opened my shop. I needed a fire extinguisher and a plumbing permit. Shouldn't I have, like, a health permit?" she said.

"I registered my business licence and I opened in a couple of weeks and I had no inspection, no nothing. They didn't even come in and see what I was doing."

To be part of the Halifax show, artists are required to get certification through a private company that teaches tattoo and piercing cleanliness to the industry in an eight-hour seminar followed by an exam.

Forty-five artists were certified in on-site workshops this weekend. Over the festival's four years, about 250 artists have been certified.

"We're breaking skin. It's got to be safe, especially for the client," Thorpe said.

"You know, we see a lot of clients a day and you want to eliminate the cross-contamination as much as possible."

'To me, that's a serious health issue.'—Shalome Swinamer

As it stands, anyone can open a tattoo and piercing studio in the Maritimes.

There is no certification process, no licensing and no inspections.

A promotional video on the festival website features mud wrestling, fire eating and extreme face piercing, but Thorpe said the three-day festival at the Halifax Forum attracted more families this year than in the past.

She said that was likely because tattoos have become more mainstream in recent years.

Shalome Swinamer stopped by the festival Monday. The Halifax resident was considering getting her first tattoo and was surprised to learn there are no provincial regulations in place.

"That's disturbing, considering hepatitis C and all the other transmittable diseases you can get from tattoos. I'm really disappointed to hear that, actually," she said.

Swinamer said she was considering getting her tattoo in a province with regulations.

"To me, that's a serious health issue. I would not want to contract something as a result of getting a tattoo that I'm going to live with the rest of my life, in addition to a tattoo," she said.