Notices to Fish Harvesters

SUBJECT:   Announcement of opening of the Greenland halibut fishery in NAFO divisions 4RST for the Upper and Middle North Shore competitive fixed gear fleet

Sept-Îles– May 25, 2023

Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Quebec Region announces the opening of the Greenland halibut fishery in NAFO divisions 4RST by the Upper and Middle North Shore fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m under competitive regime.

Following discussions with industry representatives, the Greenland halibut fishery by the fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m from the Upper and Middle North Shore under competitive fishing regime will be authorized from Mai 26, 2023 at 4:30 a.m. (EDT). The closing date and time will be determined according to the pace of landings and catch rates, and will be announced at a later date.

The quota allocated to fishers from the Upper and Middle North Shore under competitive regime is 16.5 t. Following the application of the quota reconciliation, this quantity is revised to 16.5t. Of this allocation, 0.5 t is set aside to cover by-catches in the directed fishery for other groundfish species, while 16 t is allocated to the directed fishery.

Note that carry-forward of the 2022-2023 residual quotas is not authorized.

The management measures for the Greenland halibut 4RST fishery in 2023-2025 were announced in the Notice to Fishers dated May 3, 2023.

Fishery closure area

For the 2023-2024 season, the directed Greenland halibut fishery is prohibited in part of NAFO division 4S where water depth is less than 229 meters (125 fathoms), for all Quebec region fixed gear fleets under 19.81 m due to high cod bycatch.

The directed Greenland halibut fishery is prohibited in NAFO Subdivision 4Tp due to high levels of small fish.

Other management measures

Other management measures in the Greenland Halibut 2023-2025 Conservation Harvesting Plan remain unchanged, in accordance with the discussions held at the Regional Greenland Halibut Management Committee (RGHMC) in March 2023.

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.

For more information

You can obtain additional information concerning the management measures and the fishing areas on our website at Quebec Region | Fisheries and Oceans Canada (dfo-mpo.gc.ca).

Guylaine Marcoux

Act. Resource Manager

North Shore Area

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

418-962-6314 / Toll-free 1-800-463-1729