Notices to Fish Harvesters

Approved April 23, 2024

1. Application

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) for Lobster applies to the licence holders from the Magdalen Islands fleet when fishing lobster in Lobster Fishing Area 22 in 2024.

2. Fishing Areas

Subject to any Variation Order and based on valid Conditions of licence, the authorized fishing area is Lobster Fishing Area 22, a coastal area surrounding the Magdalen Islands.

The fishing areas coordinates are listed in the Conditions of licence and are also indicated on the fishing areas maps, which are available at the following address:

Commercial Fisheries

3. Permanent closures of fishing areas

3.1 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 forbidden in the 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.

3.2 Other permanent closures of fishing areas

Pursuant to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, lobster fishing is prohibited in the Magdalen Islands lagoons.

Fishing is also prohibited in a sector of the Grande-Entrée channel and in the aquaculture sites under federal lease. The coordinates of these areas are described in the Conditions of licence.

4. Fishing seasons

The fishing season usually runs from early May to early July.

The opening and closing dates of the fishery will be confirmed by a Notice to Fish Harvesters and Variation Order.

Moreover, to encourage the safest possible setting of traps for all lobster licence holders, a Weather Condition Monitoring Protocol updated in winter 2014 is in place in order to postpone the setting of traps when, at 15:30 h the day before the opening, the wind forecast is more than 20 knots for the following morning.

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 measures necessary to insure a safe fishery during the period where fishing is authorized.

Fishing (lifting of traps) is authorized during the period comprised between 5 h and 21:30 h, from Monday to Saturday, with the exception of the last two fishing days of the season when the fishing schedule does not apply. If, for exceptional reasons beyond his or her control, a licence holder is unable to respect the fishing schedule in effect, he (she) must contact a DFO Fishery Officer to obtain authorization to deviate from the established schedule for that day.

Fishing remains unauthorized on Sundays, the day the traps are set and the day after the traps are set.

5. Number of licences

325 licence holders.

6. Management Regime

The fishery is managed by control of the fishing effort.

Licence holders are not authorized to haul their traps more than once per day.

7. Minimum catch size

Under the 1985 Atlantic Fishery Regulations, the minimum catch size is 83 mm. Since the 2021 season, a maximum catch size is established at 145 mm.

8. Fishing Gear

Number of authorized traps and trap dimensions

Licence holders are authorized to use 273 traps with maximum outside dimensions not exceeding:

• 82 cm in length, 61 cm in width and 50 cm in height, regardless of the shape of the trap

Escape mechanisms

Each trap must be equipped with one rectangular escape vent (minimum 47 mm high by minimum 127 mm long) or two circular escape vents (minimum 65 mm diameter).

Exit panels

Each lobster trap must be equipped with one exit panel compliant with the 1985 Atlantic Fishery Regulations or with a soft cotton twine.

Tagging

All traps used for fishing must bear a valid single annual tag with a unique identification number.

Licence holders must obtain their tags from suppliers approved by DFO whose list is available at the following address: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/sdc-cps/nir-nei/tags-supplier-region-eng.html

It is prohibited to have on board a fishing vessel an untagged trap. Licence holders are authorized to keep on board the fishing vessel two replacement traps, as long as they bear a valid tag. In 2024, the color of original tags is yellow and the color of replacement tags is light blue.

Trap lines (trawl)

Minimum 7 traps per line; maximum 8 fathoms between each trap; and maximum 56 fathoms from the first to the last trap, no matter the number of traps per line.

Buoy identification

Licence holders are responsible for ensuring that their commercial fishing vessel registration number (VRN) appears on their buoys at any time.

Soaking of traps

Under the Fisheries Act, it is forbidden to place fishing gear in the water or on the shore for the sole purpose of soaking, at any time.

A trap without a net and not capable of catching and/or holding fish is not considered as a fishing gear.

9. 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 from entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. These measures take into account the best available scientific data and can be adapted if necessary to take into account future developments regarding interactions prevention.

The following requirements have been implemented in order to reduce the risk of entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales:

9.1 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 North Atlantic Right Whales entanglements:

• A maximum of 3.7 metres (2 fathoms) of rope shall be used when attaching secondary buoys to a primary buoy.

 

• At the exception of 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.

9.2 Gear Marking

Licence holders using fixed gear must mark the rope used to attach a fishing gear to a primary buoy with colors 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. For the lobster fishery in area 22, the following colored markings are required: Green-Yellow.

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

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

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 twine.

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

For more information

All requirements and information on gear marking measures 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

9.3 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 sector where a right whale 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 color that contrasts with the buoy’s color.

9.4 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.

Lost fishing gear must be reported to DFO within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to DFO by completing the section reserved for that purpose in the electronic logbook.

Retrieved gear reporting

The retrieval of any of a licence holder’s 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.

9.5 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 can 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 should contact "Marine Mammal Emergencies" at 1-877-722-5346 as soon as possible to share 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 and the state of the sea, etc.).

10. Marine mammal interaction reporting

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 this, 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 can 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.

11. Electronic logbook

The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is mandatory in 2024. Licence holders must use a client application approved by DFO for the Quebec region for the form  ELOG - Logbook - Lobster. Furthermore, licence holders must have obtained and installed their Elog Key in their client application in order to allow data transmission to the Department.

The Elog must be completed for each fishing expedition and “closed” before landing. 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 are offloaded. Hence, when a licence holder goes back to port for a reason other than for offloading fish and leaves port again, the fishing expedition goes on until fish is 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: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/elogs

 

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

12. Incidental Catches protocol

Any fish caught incidentally must be returned to the water and released in the exact capture location and, if the fish is still alive, with as little harm as possible.

Licence holders are authorized to keep male rock crab incidental catches.

13. Vessel

Fishing vessels with a length overall less than 15.24 metres (50 feet) may be used.

14. 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 Conservation 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). New species could be added during the course of the year.

All incidental captures of species at risk must be immediately returned to the water where they were 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 additional to any obligation to declare an interaction with a marine mammal using the prescribed form (see section Marine mammal interaction reporting).

15. 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 following each fishing trip. This requirement does not apply to a pre-1979 corporation licence and to any licence issued under the authority of the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

16. 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 fishing waters, any item that may be harmful to fish or fish habitat.

Please refer to the following New condition of licence relating to discharge of garbage season 2022 (2022-03-29) (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

17. 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

You may call at 418-986-2095

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries and Oceans Canada