Notices to Fish Harvesters
Lobster_Areas 19, 20 and 21_Gaspé-Lower St-Lawrence_Season 2023_ Conservation Harvesting Plan_April 2023
Approved April 19, 2023
1. Application
This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to the Lobster licence holder’s fleet of the area 19, 20 and 21.
2. Fishing Areas
The sub-areas are defined as parts of lobster fishing areas 19, 20 and 21, as defined in the Conditions of licence.
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:
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 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 Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area
On March 6, 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada 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
4. Fishing seasons
The fishing season usually runs from the end of April to the beginning of July.
Number of days
- Area 19: Maximum of 71 days
- Areas 20A, 20B and 21: Maximum of 69 days
The departure from port for the lobster fishery will be authorised from 4:30 a.m. on the opening day.
The opening dates of each area will be confirmed annually by a Notice to Fish Harvesters and/or Variation Orders before the start of the fishery. The fishing season established above is in effect for the duration of this CHP. It represents the maximum duration of fishing period. Opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances and fishery management considerations such as industry requests while closing dates may be advanced, particularly for conservation reasons.
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. Management Regime
Competitive fishery managed by controlling fishing effort.
6. Minimum and maximum catch size
- Minimum size: 83 mm
- Maximum size: 145 mm
7. Fishing Gear
Maximum number of traps
Licence holders are authorized to use the number of traps specified on their Licence.
Area 19:
- Maximum of 250 traps
Areas 20 and 21:
- Minimum of 235 traps
- Maximum of 335 traps
Traps dimensions
Area 19:
- Maximum length: 92cm
- Maximum width: 61cm
- Maximum height: 50cm
Areas 20 and 21:
- Wire traps:
- Maximum length: 92cm
- Maximum width: 54cm
- Maximum height: 39cm
- Wooden traps (or hybrid wood/other materials):
- Maximum length: 92cm
- Maximum width: 61cm
- Maximum height:46cm
Fishing tags
All traps used for fishing must have a single valid annual tag with a unique identification number. Fishers 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 2023, the original tags are green (all fisheries except southern Gulf snow crab) or pink (southern Gulf snow crab) and the replacement tags are orange.
Escape Vents
It is prohibited to use for fishing purposes or to have aboard a vessel any lobster trap that is not equipped with a circular or rectangular escape mechanism.
Circular Vents
Two unobstructed circular openings of a diameter no less than 65 mm, the top of the openings is at most
Rectangular Vents
One unobstructed rectangular opening no less than
Device against seals
It is prohibited to install any device to prevent seals to access to the content of the trap, other than a simple horizontal bar made of wood or wire located at the entry of the trap, of which the height is not more than 40 mm, fixed in a manner that the space located between this bar and the top of the runner is at a minimum of 165 mm. The impact of this authorization will be analyzed at the end of the 2016 season to evaluate the possibility of maintaining it.
Trap Lines
When fishing is carried out using lines of traps in sub-areas 20AB and 21A, they must count at least (minimum) 6 traps. The maximum distance authorised between each trap of a same trawl is 12 fathoms.
Gears haul
It is prohibited to haul the traps on the opening day.
It is prohibited to haul and bait the traps more than once a day.
It is the responsibility of fishermen to up their gear at least every 72 hours.
8. Management measures to minimize the risks of interactions with the North Atlantic Right Whale
Since 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has put in place additional management measures to protect marine mammal 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:
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 reduce the risk of North Atlantic Right Whales entanglements:
- A maximum of 6.4 metres (3.5 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.
8.2. 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 coloured markings are required for each fleet:
|
Fleet |
Twine colours for marking |
|---|---|
|
Lobster area 19 |
Green-Yellow-Brown |
|
Lobster area 20A |
Green-Yellow-White |
|
Lobster area 20B |
Green-Yellow-Grey |
|
Lobster area 21 |
Green-Yellow-Orange |
The gear marking requirement consisting of interlacing different coloured twine sections within existing rope must be implemented as follows:
- The first colour to identify specific Region – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the second colour.
- The second colour to identify target Species – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first colour.
- The third colour to mark different fishing areas must be interlaced. The third colour must be interlaced immediately before or after the segment of rope containing the first two colours. The third colour must not be interlaced within the same segment containing the first and second colour.
The above coloured twine markings must be permanently interlaced within the rope. Each coloured 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 colour markings are detailed in the Conditions of licence.
For more information
All the information on gear marking measures has been published in Notice to Fish Harvesters, available at the following link: Notice to Fish Harvesters
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 sector 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.
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 and fishing vessel operator which was sought but not found.
The licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report any of their 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 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (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 Conditions of licence, 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 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its 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 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (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 Conditions of licence, according to instructions on the form. Retrieval can 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 their 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 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its 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 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.).
9. 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 of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (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. Electronic logbook
The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is mandatory. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the Quebec region for the form ELOG - Logbook - Traps (lobster). Furthermore, fish harvesters 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 fisher goes back to port for a reason other than for offloading fish and leaves port again, the fishing expedition goes on until fish are offloaded.
To consult the list of client applications approved by the Department and to obtain your Elog key, visit Fisheries and Ocean’s web page at the following address: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS)
To request a modification to data that has been transmitted to Fisheries and Oceans, you must communicate with the client support service at 1-877-535-7307.
11. Incidental Catches
All fish, except male rock crabs, caught incidentally while fishing under this licence must be returned to the water in the same location in which they were caught and, if the fish are alive, in a manner that causes them the least harm.
12. Simultaneous fisheries
Simultaneous fishing of other species with traps such as whelk, rock crab and sea urchin is prohibited during lobster fishing activities.
13. Boat
Fishermen may use a boat with a length less than 15.24 m.
The use of an auxiliary boat is permitted under certain conditions. It must first be registered with DFO and must be identified on the Conditions of licence. Only one boat is allowed to take part in a fishing trip. Landings must be associated to the vessel number of the main boat.
14. Partnership (combining of licences)
Temporary mergers (or partnerships) between two license holders of the same sub-area authorized to use 235 traps are allowed. Both must be onboard at all times during a fishing expedition, for the entire season, and are authorized to use a maximum of 435 traps in total. Temporary mergers may be renewed annually, and licence holders may take advantage of this option for no more than five years (consecutive or not).
Interested licence holders must apply through Fisheries and Oceans Canada's National On-Line Licensing System at least 5 working days prior to the start of the lobster fishing season.
15. Other Management Measures
“V” marks (v-notch)
When marking a “V” (v-notch), an appropriate tool must be used to mark each uropod immediately located on each side of the telson. It is forbidden to be in possession of any female lobster identified by a V-notch or bearing a mutilation, on each uropod located immediately on each side of the telson.
16. 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 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).
17. 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 licence 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 Notices to Fish Harvesters or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
18. 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.
19. 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 question regarding this CHP
You may call at : 1-877-898-5559
For additional information
Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries