Notices to Fish Harvesters

Approved July 23, 2024

1. Application

This Conservation Harvesting plan (CHP) applies to the rock crab license holders from the Quebec region for the 2024 and 2025 fishing seasons.

2. Fishing Areas

Sub-areas 12A, 12B et 12C : Magdalen Islands

Sub-areas12D à 12Z et 17C : Gaspe-Lower St-Lawrence

Sub-areas 16A à 16G : North Shore

Fishing sub-areas are defined as parts of crab fishing areas. They are listed in the Conditions of licence and on the Fishing Area Maps which are available at the following address: Commercial Fisheries (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

3. Fishing Closures

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 not authorized 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 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, please refer to the clauses that apply to your fishing activities: Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations.

3.3 Rock Crab Conservation Closures

Control Sub-area 12C1 remains closed to rock crab fishing.

Fishing for rock crab is prohibited in the following protected areas:

AP-1A: located inside sub-area 17B

AP-1B: located between sub-areas 17B and 17C1

AP-2: located between sub-areas 17C1 and 17C2

AP-3: located between sub-areas 17C2 and 12D1

AP-4: located between sub-areas 12D1 and 12D2

AP-5: located between sub-areas 12D3 and 12D4

AP-6: located inside sub-area 12D6

AP-7: located between sub-areas 12G and 12O

AP-8: located between sub-areas 12R and 12U

4. Fishing Seasons

 

Fishing Seasons

Area	Sub-areas	Duration (weeks)
Magdalen Islands	12A, 12B et 12C	19
Gaspésie- Lower St.Lawrence	12D1 à 12Z except 12D6 and 17C	8
North Shore	16A, 16B including 16B-1, 16D, 16E-1, 16E-2 and 16G	17

The duration of these fishing seasons will be in effect for the period of validity of this CHP. These represent the maximum duration of the fishery, subject notably to Variation Orders and to specific closure periods. Opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances and fisheries management considerations such as industry requests and quotas (TAC) announcements, while closing dates may be anticipated when quotas are reached or when risks of exceeding them are high. Opening and closing dates of the fishery will be confirmed through Notices 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 measures necessary to insure a safe fishery during the period where fishing is authorized.

5. Number of licences, quota and management regime

 

Number of licences,quota and management regime

Area	Sub-areas	Number of licences	Quota (tons)	Management regime
Magdalen Islands	12A, 12B and 12C	14	375,746	Individual transferable quota (ITQ)
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12D1 to 12D3 and 17C	4	75	Competitive with TAC
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12D4, 12D5 and 12D7	4	148,5	Individual Quota (IQ)
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12E to 12O	4	81,5	Competitive with TAC
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12Q, 12W and 12X	7	77,5	Competitive with TAC
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12Y	7	61,5	Competitive with TAC
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12Z	5	101,5	Competitive with TAC
North-Shore	16A	2 (exploratory)*	-	Control of fishing effort
North-Shore	16B including 16B-1	5	72 (36 t. par sous-zones)	QIT
North-Shore	16D	4 (exploratory)*	31	Competitive with TAC
North-Shore	16E-1 and 16E-2	9 accesses (licences from sub-areas 16B, 16B-1 and16D)	-	Control of fishing effort
North-Shore	16G	3 (exploratory)*	-	Control of fishing effort

*Non transferable

Administrative guidelines of the ITQ program for sub-area 16B are included in the regional guidelines available at the following address: REGIONAL GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTA PROGRAMS

For sub-areas 12A, 12B and 12C, administrative guidelines are available via the Magdalen Islands area office.

6. Minimum Catch Size

All male rock crabs with a carapace width under 102 mm and all female rock crabs (of any size) must be returned to the water immediately.

7. Fishing Gear

Licence holders are authorized to use the number of traps indicated on their license or in their Conditions of license. The maximum number of traps allowed is summarized in the following table:

Fishing gear

Area	Sub-area	Number of traps  allowed
Magdalen Islands	12A to 12C	See Appendix 1
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12D1 à 12D7, 12F à 12Q, 12X and 17C	150
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12W	100
Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence	12Y et 12Z	75
North Shore	16A,16D and 16G	150
North Shore	16B (excluding 16B-1)	200
North Shore	16B-1	150
North Shore	16E-1 and 16E-2	200

The traps used must meet the following dimensions:

Magdalen Islands:

Type 1: 

• Height : Min. 381 mm – Max. 508 mm
• Lower diameter: Max. 914 mm
• Upper diameter : Min. 457 mm

Type 2:

• Height : Min. 508 mm – Max. 677 mm
• Lower diameter : Max. 1 219 mm
• Upper diameter: Min. 609 mm

Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence:

• Height: Min. 381 mm – Max. 508 mm
• Lower diameter : Max. 914 mm
• Upper diameter : Min. 457 mm

Escape mechanisms :

No person shall use for fishing, or have on board the vessel, a rock crab trap unless the trap is equipped with an escape mechanism consisting of a minimum of 4 unobstructed circular openings no less than 65 mm in diameter, the bottom of the openings at a distance from the base of the trap not exceeding 51 mm.

Tagging:

All traps used for fishing must bear a single valid annual tag with a unique identification number. Licence holders must obtain their tags from DFO approved suppliers. A list of these suppliers is available at the following address: Approved tag suppliers

It is prohibited to have untagged fishing gear on board a fishing vessel. In 2024, the original tags are yellow, and the replacement tags are pale blue.

8.  Management measures to minimize the risks of interactions with 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 risk of entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales:

8.1 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 to reduce the risk of North Atlantic Right Whales entanglements:

• When secondary buoy(s) is (are) attached to a primary buoy, the maximum length of rope that may be used varies depending on the fishing area:

• North Shore: 6.4 meters (3.5 fathoms);
• Gaspe - Lower St. Lawrence and Magdalen Islands : 3.7 meters (2 fathoms).

• 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.

8.2 Gear Marking

All 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 rock crab fishery: Green – Blue.

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

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

For more information

All the information on gear marking measures has been published in the Notice to Fish Harvesters available at the following link: Gear marking in eastern canada

8.3 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 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 colour that contrasts with the buoy’s colour.

8.4 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 Lost and retrieved gear reporting; 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 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 licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report the retrieval of any 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 Lost and retrieved gear reporting; 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 for 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 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.

8.5 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 circumstance 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 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.).

 

9. Marine Mammal Interaction Report

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 DFO 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.

10. Hail in

Sub-areas 12A to 12Z, 16A, 16D and 17C : It is mandatory to hail-in to a local dockside monitoring company prior to arriving at port.

11. Dockside Monitoring

In sub-areas 12A, 12B and 12C, dockside monitoring is mandatory on the basis of a sporadic coverage of the landings. Landings must be made at one of the designated dockside monitoring ports listed at: Designated Dockside Monitoring Ports. Prior to the beginning of a fishing trip, the licence holder must have an agreement for the hailing and landing of fish caught with a Dockside Monitoring Company legally designated by DFO. When using an electronic logbook, the licence holder must communicate its unique Electronic Logbook Identifier to the Dockside Monitoring Company when hailing in and must also provide it to the dockside observer.

12. Fishing Effort and Catch Declaration

12.1 Combined Form/Logbook

Licence holders must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a prequalified supplier identified by DFO. The list of prequalified suppliers is available at the following address: Commercial Fishery Requirements (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

The logbook section of the Combined Form must be completed for each fishing day and forwarded to DFO.

12.2 Electronic Logbook

The use of an Electronic logbook (Elog) is optional in 2024. The client application must be approved by DFO for the form ELOG - Logbook – Crab. Furthermore, the licence holder must have obtained and installed its Elog Key in its client application, in order to allow data transmission to DFO. The Electronic logbook must be completed for each fishing expedition and « closed » before arriving at 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 offloading and leaves port again, the fishing expedition goes on until fish is offloaded.

To consult the list of client applications approved by DFO 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. Incidental Catches

Sub-areas 12A to 12C et 16A, 16B, 16D, 16E and 16G :

• No incidental catch may be retained.

Sub-areas 12D1 to 12Z and 17C :

• Incidental catches of toad crab may be retained. Any other incidental catch must be returned to the water immediately.
• Incidental catches of lobster must be counted, documented in the logbook and immediately released.

When releasing a live fish, the licence holder must immediately return it to the water where it was caught in a manner that causes the least possible harm.

14. Simultaneous Fisheries

Sub-areas 12D1 à 12Z et 17C :

• It`s prohibited to fish simultaneously for rock crab and other species that are fished with traps, such as whelk, lobster and sea urchin.

Sub areas 16A, 16B, 16D, 16E and 16G :

• Rock crab and whelk fishing are authorized on separate fishing trips.
• A rock crab license holder may not fish simultaneously for rock crab and lobster and/or toad crab

15. Vessel

Fish harvesters may use a vessel with an overall length less than 15.24 m (50 feet).

16. Quota Reconciliation

Competitive quota : Any overharvest of a sub-area’s quota incurred by the fleet during a season will be deducted from the competitive quota of the sub-area for the following year.

Individual quota (IQ): Any overharvest of an individual quota incurred by a licence holder during a management year will be deducted from its individual quota for the following year, on a one-for-one basis. However, this approach does not relieve fish harvesters of their responsibility to respect the quantity allocated to them.

Individual transferable quota (ITQ): Any overharvest of an individual transferable quota incurred by a licence holder during a management year will be deducted from its individual quota for the following year, on a one-for-one basis. However, this approach does not relieve fish harvesters of their responsibility to respect the quantity allocated to them, taking into account their transfers and landings, and to make the required arrangements, before departing on a fishing trip, to have the necessary quota to cover the catches that are likely to be made during the trip.

17. Participation Clause

Sub-areas 16A, 16D and 16G : A participation clause may be applied in order to renew the licences. This would be 4.5 t for sub-areas 16A and 16D and 1.36 t for sub-area 16G. Catches must be registered with DFO before December 31 of the current year by a buyer registered with DFO.

18. Hauling of Fishing Gears

Sub-areas 12D1 to 12Z and 17C:

• It is prohibited to haul and bait traps more than once a day.
• Hauling traps is allowed during the two days following the opening of the fishery.

19. Species at Risk

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 of being captured are the following: the Spotted Wolffish, the Northern Wolffish, the Leatherback Turtle and 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 »).

20. 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 at Crew Registry Requirement; or contact 1-877-535-7307; or fishingpeche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

21. 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 from their vessel 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 (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

22. Conditions of Licence

To obtain their Conditions of licence, fish harvesters 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 questions regarding this CHP:

Magdalen Islands Area: 418-986-2095

North Shore Area: 1-800-463-1729

Gaspe-Lower St. Lawrence Area : 1-877-898-5559

 

Pour information additionnelle

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