Notices to Fish Harvesters

Approved July 28, 2024

1. Application

This Atlantic halibut Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to groundfish licence holders with fixed gear of the less than 19,81 m fleet from Magdalen Islands when conducting Atlantic halibut fishing activities in 4RST divisions from May 15, 2024 to May 14, 2025.

Note that:

• this CHP is subject to change following ministerial decisions;
• for any other groundfish species directed fishery, a separate CHP is available;
• when fishing in a NAFO division other than those indicated in this CHP, the CHP for that division applies;
• the targeted species during a fishing trip is the species for which a licence holder holds valid Conditions of licence;
• round weight is the weight prior to processing of any kind.

2. Fishing areas

Subject to valid Conditions of licence and to a Variation Order, licence holders are authorized to fish Atlantic halibut in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) divisions 4RST.

The fishing areas coordinates are available at the following address: Commercial Fisheries

3. Fishing closures

 

3.1 Protection of fish during spawning and cod concentrations

 

The protection of fish during the spawning period and in areas where there are concentrations of juveniles is a priority that the Department and the industry consider very important for the recovery of the cod stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To achieve this objective, details on the areas of closure are summarized in the following table.

The areas of closure

Description of the area	Species	Period of closure
Part of the NAFO Division 4R offshore from St. George’s Bay and Port-au-Port Bay, recognized as a spawning area.	Groundfish	April 1 to June 23
NAFO subdivisions 4T7 and 4T8	Atlantic Halibut	January 1to December 31
NAFO subdivisions 4T5 (Shediac Valley)	Groundfish	January 1to December 31
Part of subdivision 4T3 (Miscou Bank), with exception for the portion delineated by a line that joins points 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 2 that remains open to the Atlantic halibut fixed gear fishery from June 24 to December 31*.	Groundfish	January 1to December 31

* Please refer to the attached map for further details.

The positions of the points shown in the map above

Point	Latitude	Longitude
1	48º15'00"	64º22'00"
2	47º52'00"	64º22'00"
3	47º52'00"	64º02'00"
4	48º15'00"	64º02'00"
5	48º09'00"	64º22'00"
6	48º09'00"	64º10'00"
7	47º55'00"	64º10'00"
8	47º52'00"	64º15'00"

Note: 

• The lines joining points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 1 represent the permanently closed area, a portion of the area known as the Miscou traditional box.
• The lines joining points 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 2 represent the portion open to the directed Atlantic halibut fishery from June 24 to December 31 (in black).

3.2 Coral and Sponge Conservation Areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence

On December 15, 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) created eleven coral and sponge conservation areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, in order to protect areas with high concentrations of sponges and sea pens.

All fishing activities that use bottom-contact gear or gear designed to come into contact with the sea bed, including but not limited to bottom trawls, dredges, gillnets, bottom longlines, bottom seines and traps are not authorized in these conservation areas.

For more information and maps of the eleven coral and sponge conservation areas, please visit the dedicated DFO website: Coral and sponge conservation measures in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

3.3 Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area

On March 6, 2019, DFO created, jointly with the Quebec government, the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area (MPA) in order to the ensure the conservation and protection of this marine ecosystem.

Provisions of the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations apply to licence holders. In order to comply with them, licence holders may refer to the clauses that apply to their fishing activities: Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations.

3.4 Atlantic halibut directed fishery temporary closure

A temporary closure of part of the 4T division is in place, considering the excessive bycatch of cod previously observed, and will remain closed until further notice. This area is bounded by straight lines delineated by the following points:

1. 49°02’00" N 64°10’00" W

2. 48°31’00" N 62°37’00" W

3. 48°23’00" N 63°08’00" W

4. 48°46’00" N 64°10’00" W

5. 49°02’00" N 64°10’00" W

4. Fishing seasons

Period 1: From July 14 to October 5, 2024.

Period 2: From April 1 to April 28, 2025.

The above mentioned fishing periods are in effect for the duration of this CHP. They represent the maximum fishing periods, subject to notably Variation orders and specific periods of closure. Therefore, opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances such as industry requests and quota announcement, while closing dates may be advanced according to factors such as quotas being reached, or when risks of quota overruns are high. The fishing periods will be confirmed through Notice to Fish Harvesters or Variation Orders.

It should be reminded that it is the responsibility of the captain to acquaint himself with the marine safety notices published by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Transport Canada, as well as with the standards and best practices in marine safety and to take all necessary measures to insure a safe fishery.

5. Quotas and management regime

Division 4RST Atlantic halibut allocation is derived in part from the basic allocation to the Gulf <19.81 m fixed gear fleets and from a portion of the allocation for the mobile gear fleets (146.8 t), in accordance with established sharing formulas.

On April 15, 2016, under the coordination of the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), representatives of fixed gear groundfish licence holders associations have agreed to a sharing agreement for the global Atlantic halibut quota between the three Quebec geographic fleets. The agreement has been recognized by DFO and confirms an adjustment to Quebec's geographic fleet shares and their relative shares of the Quebec allocation in the following percentages:

- Québec North Shore = 18.4277 %;

- Gaspe = 66.9401 %;

- Magdalen Islands = 14.6322 %.

Any additional allocation granted to Quebec fleets with fixed gear will be shared according to the same percentages.

For 2024-2025, the total quota allocated to the three Quebec geographic fleets corresponds to 1108.79 t. The sharing of this quota then corresponds to:

- North Shore = 204.323 t;

- Gaspe = 742.223 t;

- Magdalen Islands = 162.240 t.

Administrative guidelines of the ITQ program for the Atlantic halibut fixed gear fleet less than 19.81 m from the Magdalen Islands are included in the Regional guidelines for the management of individual transferable quota programs available on the DFO Quebec Region website at the following address: REGIONAL GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTA PROGRAMS

6. Fishing gear

The authorized fishing gear is the longline with a hook opening equal to or greater than 15.4 mm. The number of hooks authorized varies according to the licence holder’s initial ITQ:

The number of hooks authorized

Level	Initial Quota	Maximum number of hooks authorized
1	Less or equal to 1 185 kg	700
2	More than 1 185 kg and less or equal to 1 500 kg	1050
3	More than 1 500 kg and less or equal to 3 500 kg	1500
4	More than 3 500 kg	2000

It is the responsibility of the licence holder to ensure that the soaking time of its fishing gear does not exceed 72 hours.

It is prohibited to have more fishing gear on board the vessel than the maximum allowed for fishing under the allocation held.

7. Management measures to minimize the risks of interactions with the North Atlantic Right Whale

Since 2017, the government of Canada has put in place additional management measures to protect marine mammals, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) from entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. These measures take into account the best available scientific data and may be adapted if necessary to take into account future developments regarding interactions prevention.

The following requirements have been implemented in order to reduce the risks of entanglement of NARW:

7.1 Amount of rope floating on the surface of the water

The following requirements are in place to minimize the length of rope floating on the surface of the water and reduce the risk of NARW entanglements:

• A maximum of 3.7 metres (2 fathoms) of rope may be used when attaching secondary buoys to a primary buoy.
• With exception for the rope attaching secondary buoys, no rope shall float on the surface of the water at any time.

Note: A primary buoy is defined as a buoy or other floating device attached to a fishing gear. A secondary buoy is defined as a buoy or other floating device attached to a primary buoy.

7.2 Gear marking

Licence holders using fixed gear must mark the rope used to attach a fishing gear to a primary buoy with colours specific to the region, targeted species and fishing area in which they are authorized to fish. This requirement is intended to facilitate the identification of the area where an entanglement has occurred. The following colored markings are required for the fleet: Green-Pink.

The gear marking requirement, consisting of interlacing different colored twine sections within existing rope, must be implemented as follows:

1. The first colour to identify the Region – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the second colour.
2. The second colour to identify the targeted species – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first colour.

 

The above colored twine markings must be permanently interlaced within the rope. Each colored twine must be interlaced in the rope on a minimum length of 15 cm. The use of paint or tape is not an admissible alternative to colored twines.

The minimum requirements regarding the number and position of colored markings are detailed in the Conditions of licence.

For more information

All gear marking requirements have been published in the Notice to Fish Harvesters, available at the following link: UPDATE TO THE CONDITIONS OF LICENCES RELATED TO THE MANDATORY COLOUR SCHEME FOR GEAR MARKING IN EASTERN CANADA

7.3 Additional identification of buoys

In addition to the regulatory requirement to mark buoys with the vessel registration number (VRN), licence holders are required to add a sequential number on each primary buoy, in order to be able to individually identify each fishing gear. This additional requirement will help identify and retrieve lost gear, and could also help identify the area where a NARW may have become entangled.

The sequential number shall be solid block Arabic numerals:

• without ornamentation;
• written in a smaller or bigger font size than the VRN, so as to be capable of differentiating the number from the VRN; and
• in a colour that contrasts with the buoy’s colour

7.4 Requirement to report lost and retrieved gear

Lost gear reporting

Lost fishing gear is defined as any active fishing gear previously set by the licence holder or fishing vessel operator which was sought but not found.

The licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report any lost fishing gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to DFO through the Fishing Gear Reporting System available online at Fishing Gear Reporting System, or by completing the Lost fishing gear form available online at Reporting requirements for commercial fisheries, or in Annex of the Conditions of licence, and according to instructions on the form.

If the licence holder or fishing vessel operator is using an Electronic logbook, lost fishing gear reports must be submitted to DFO within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip, by completing the section reserved for that purpose in the Electronic logbook.

Retrieved gear reporting

The licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to DFO through the Fishing gear reporting system available online at Fishing Gear Reporting System, or by completing the Retrieval of previously reported lost fishing gear form available online at Reporting requirements for commercial fisheries, or in Annex of the Conditions of licence, and according to instructions on the form. Retrieval may only occur during the validity period of the Conditions of licence and only in relation to the specific type of gear authorized to be used by the Conditions of licence.

If the licence holder or fishing vessel operator is using an Electronic logbook , the retrieval of any of its own previously reported lost gear must be reported within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to DFO by completing the section reserved for that purpose in the Electronic logbook.

7.5 What to do if you observe a North Atlantic Right Whale

First of all, it is important to maintain a minimum distance of 100 meters from the animal and 200 meters if the whale is accompanied by a calve. Details regarding sightings of live and free-swimming right whales may be provided to DFO at: XMARWhalesightings@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or by phone at 1-844-800-8568. If you observe this species, please send us your contact information and information about the sighting (date, time, geographical position, number of individuals, etc.). If possible, you may also send us photos or videos.

If you see a right whale entangled in fishing gear, you should not under any circumstances attempt to release it on your own. The behaviour of an entangled individual is unpredictable and dangerous. You must contact « Marine Mammal Emergencies » at 1-877-722-5346 as soon as possible to share the information that will help to organize an appropriate response by experts (time and position of the entangled animal, behaviour of the individual, details on the weather, sea conditions, etc.).

8. Marine mammal interactions reporting

In order to comply with the implementation of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, licence holders must provide information regarding all interactions with a marine mammal that occur during fishing expeditions including: bycatch, collisions and all sightings of entangled marine mammals. To do so, the Marine Mammal Interaction Form must be completed and submitted by email to DFO.NAT.InteractionsMM-InteractionsMM.NAT.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca within 48 hours after the end of a fishing trip.

A copy of the form is attached to the Conditions of licence and may also be downloaded and submitted online at the following address:  Report a marine mammal or sea turtle incident or sighting

The information provided on this form will be used by the Department to estimate levels of accidental mortality and injury to marine mammals. This information will allow DFO to better assess the types of threats that may affect Canada's marine mammals and to develop mitigation strategies.

In addition, if you observe a dead or distressed animal, please contact « Marine Mammal Emergencies » as soon as possible at 1-877-722-5346. If possible, do not hesitate to take photos or videos that will allow DFO to assess the situation and identify the species.

9. Hail prior to departure

Hail-out are mandatory for all participants.

Licence holders are required to contact the DFO hail-out system before 19:00 the day before each fishing trip.

10. At-sea observer

Industry-funded at-sea observer coverage at a minimum of 10% of the fishing trips applies. Prior to the beginning of a fishing trip, the licence holder must have an agreement with a company designated by DFO-Quebec Region with regard to at-sea observer coverage.

If an individual or a fleet is suspected of discarding groundfish at sea, in addition to other regulatory options including fishery closures and legal proceedings, at-sea observer coverage may be increased.

11. Dockside Monitoring

The Dockside Monitoring Program (DMP) applies to 100% of the landings.

Prior to the beginning of a fishing trip, licence holders must have an agreement with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by DFO whose list is available at the following address: Monitoring Programs

 

Landings must be made at one of the designated ports listed on the DFO website: Designated Dockside Monitoring Ports

When using an Electronic logbook, you must communicate your unique Electronic Logbook Identifier to the Dockside Monitoring Company when hailing in, and also provide it to the dockside observer.

12. Catch and effort data declaration

12.1 Combined form / Logbook

Licence holders must obtain their Combined Forms booklet from the DFO pre-qualified suppliers listed at: Prequalified suppliers, complete it according to the instructions specified in the document, and hand it to the dockside observer or to any other person designated by DFO at the time of landing. The Logbook section of this form must be properly completed for each fishing day, and prior to arrival to port.

12.2 Electronic logbook

The use of an Electronic logbook (Elog) is optional in 2024. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by DFO for the form ELOG - Logbook - Groundfish. Furthermore, the user must have obtained and installed its Elog Key in its client application, in order to allow data transmission to the Department.

The Elog must be completed for each fishing expedition and « closed » before arriving to port. A fishing expedition means a voyage that commences at the time a fishing vessel leaves a port to engage in fishing and terminates at the time fish caught during that period is offloaded. Hence, when a fish harvester goes back to port for a reason other than a complete offloading of its catches and leaves port again afterward, the fishing expedition goes on until the fish is completely offloaded.

To consult the list of client applications approved by the Department and to obtain your Elog key, visit DFO’s web page at the following address: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS)

To request a modification to data that have already been transmitted to DFO, you must communicate with the client support service at 1-877-535-7307.

13. Vessel Monitoring System

Discussions with fleet representatives will continue over the next year regarding the implementation of VMS planned for the 2025-2026 season.

14. Bycatch protocol

Bycatch is defined as the round weight of a bycatch species divided by the round weight of the targeted species.

Spatial or individual closures may occur when a bycatch limit is reached.

Groundfish bycatch limits allowed when directing on Atlantic halibut in 4RST are:

with

Groundfish bycatch limits

Species	Catch limit per fishing trip
Cod	The greater of 30% or 45 kg per fishing trip
Greenland Halibut	3% per fishing trip
White Hake	10% per fishing trip
Shark	The lesser of 10% or 500 kg per fishing trip
Other groundfish species	10% per fishing trip

 

15. Small fish protocol

The minimum size of fish relative to the small fish protocol is:

Small fish protocol

Species	Minimum size
Cod	43 cm
American Plaice	30 cm
Witch Flounder	30 cm
White Hake	45 cm
Winter Flounder	25 cm
Yellowtail Flounder	25 cm
Greenland Halibut	44 cm
Atlantic Halibut	85 cm
Redfish	22 cm

 

All catches of Atlantic halibut less than 85 cm must be returned to the water immediately. When live fish is returned to the water, it must be handled in a manner that causes it the least harm possible.

Areas could be closed to fishing for the fleet, or part of the fleet, when the number of undersized fish reaches 15% of the catch of any of the above species.

16. Catch monitoring and test fishery

Small fish and bycatch closures are for a minimum duration of 10 days. The cost of conducting test fisheries is borne by the industry. If a fishery is closed, it will not reopen until DFO feels that it can be effectively monitored and controlled. If a fishery is closed twice during the same year because of high levels of small fish or incidental catch, the fishery may remain closed for the remainder of the year.

17. Vessel

Vessels with an overall length (LOA) less than 15,24 m may be used.

18. Partnership

Partnership arrangements involving up to three licence holders on board a same fishing vessel are permitted. The quantity of hooks allowed for partnerships is equal a) to the total number of hooks allowed to the licence holder with the highest initial ITQ, plus b) 50% of the hooks authorized to the additional licence holders.

Partnership agreements are valid for the duration of the fishing period for which the Conditions of licence are issued, either for Period 1 (summer-fall) or for Period 2 (spring).

19. Conversion Rate

The conversion rate from eviscerated Atlantic halibut weight to round (whole) fish weight is 1.14.

20. Quota reconciliation

Quota reconciliation provides that any quota overrun in a given year, on an individual quota regime or in a competitive fishery, will be accounted for in the following season’s quota. For example, quota overruns incurred at the end of a management year will be deducted on a one-for-one basis from the licence holder’s or fleet's quota the following year.

In implementing quota reconciliation, the Department authorizes quota transfers, enabling fleets and fish harvesters to cover any quota overrun until a specific deadline, after which the Department compares the final fishing data. This deadline is the end of the groundfish fishery management year which is May 14. During the weeks following this deadline, the Department makes any necessary changes to quotas for the current year, based on overruns of competitive and ITQs, if applicable.

In addition, when fishing under ITQ, it is the responsibility of the licence holder to adhere to the quantity allocated, taking transfers and landings into consideration. If applicable, the licence holder must also make any arrangements required to cover any quota overrun that occurred during previous fishing trips before embarking on a new fishing trip, and must hold the quota necessary to cover the catches that will be made during said trip.

21. Other Management Measures

The carry forward of Atlantic halibut uncaught quotas from the previous year is authorized, up to a maximum of 15% of the initial quotas.

22. Species At Risk Act

Pursuant to the Species at Risk Act, no person shall kill, harm, harass, capture, take, possess, collect, buy, sell or trade an individual or any part or derivate of a wildlife species designated as extirpated, endangered or threatened.

At the time this harvesting plan is promulgated, the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence species susceptible to being captured are the following: the Spotted Wolffish, the Northern Wolffish, the Leatherback Turtle, the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) and exceptionally the White Shark (Atlantic population). New species could be added during the course of the year.

Any incidental capture of a species at risk must be immediately returned to the water where it was captured and, if the animal is still alive, in the manner that causes it the least harm. All incidental captures of species at risk must be recorded in the « Species at Risk » section of the logbook. Furthermore, all interactions with species at risk, notably the North Atlantic Right Whale, the Blue Whale (Atlantic population), the Beluga Whale (St. Lawrence Estuary population) and the White Shark (Atlantic population), must be recorded in this section of the logbook.

These requirements are in addition to any obligation to declare an interaction with a marine mammal using the prescribed form (see section « Marine mammal interaction reporting »).

23. Crew registry

Since April 1st, 2021, inshore commercial licence holders and their approved substitute operators must keep records of all the crew members working aboard the vessel on every fishing trip. These records must be maintained by the licence holder for a period of five (5) years. This requirement does not apply to pre-1979 corporation licences and to any licence issued under the authority of the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations. For further details, refer to the March 17th, 2021 Notice to Fish Harvesters, contact 1-877-535-7307, or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

24. Discharge of waste

Since 2022, all commercial fisheries in Canada have a new condition of licence relating to the discharge of garbage from Canadian fishing vessels. The licence holder is prohibited from discarding in Canadian fisheries waters any item that may be harmful to fish or fish habitat . Please refer to the following Notice to Fish Harvesters: NEW CONDITION OF LICENCE RELATING TO DISCHARGE OF GARBAGE

25. Conditions of licence

To obtain their Conditions of licence, licence holders must access the National Online Licensing System. For National Online Licensing System assistance, please contact customer support by phone at 1 877‑535-7307 or by email at fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Approved by:

Maryse Lemire

Fisheries Management Regional Director

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Quebec

For any question regarding this CHP

Magdalen Islands area: 418-986-2095.

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries.