Notices to Fish Harvesters

Approved March 30, 2023

1. Application

The present Conservation-based harvesting plan (CHP) applies to sea urchin licence holders of areas 10 and 11 - Quebec Region.

2. Fishing Areas

Sea urchin fishing area 10 extends along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from east of Pointe-des-Monts to west of the Sheldrake River bridge.

Sea urchin fishing area 11 extends along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the Sheldrake River to Pointe-de-Natashquan inclusively.

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. Fishing closures

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.

4. Fishing seasons

Fishing is authorized annually from April 1 to December 31 (dates subject to change).

The following seasons will be in effect for the duration of this CHP. They represent the maximum duration of fishing periods. Opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances such as industry requests and the TAC announcement while closing dates may be advanced according to factors such as the reach of quotas or when risks of exceeding them are high. Opening and closing fishing dates of each fleet will be confirmed through usual communication means, particularly Notices to Fish Harvesters, if applicable.

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 and access

• In area 10, 1 exploratory licence;
• In area 11, 3 exploratory licences.

6. Management Regime

Control of fishing effort.

For area 10, control of the number of licences and of the total length of the season.

For area 11, quota system of individual fishing*days.

7. Quotas

In area 11, each licence holder has a maximum of 60 fishing*days.

One fishing*day corresponds to a fishing expedition lasting a maximum of 12 hours. Fishing time is defined as the period between departure and return to the dock.

Only one landing per fishing*day is allowed. Any additional landing will be considered as an additional fishing day.

8. Minimum catch size

A minimum catch size of 50 mm (test width (shell excluding spines)) applies regardless of the gear used.

9. Fishing Gear

• Area 10: Commercial diving fishing with a maximum of 4 divers, either diving and/or aboard the boat.
• Area 11: Commercial diving fishing with a maximum of 4 divers, either diving and/or aboard the boat or trap fishing : 100 whelk traps, with a maximum exterior volume not exceeding 0.3 cubic meters (10.6 cubic feet) equipped with a biodegradable escape mechanism.

9.1. Tagging

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 and the replacement tags are orange.

9.2. Restriction

The use of traps is prohibited in area 11 during the whelk commercial fishery of areas 6, 7 and 9. It is the licence holder’s responsibility to be informed about the closing dates for the whelk fishery.

10. 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:

10.1. 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 used to attach secondary buoys, it is prohibited at all times to allow a rope to float on the surface of the water.

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.

10.2. 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:

• Sea Urchin (whelk traps) Fleet - Green-White Twine colours for marking

The gear marking requirement consisting of interlacing different coloured 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 target Species – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first 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

10.3. 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.

10.4. 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.

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.

10.5. 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.).

11. Marine mammal interaction reporting

In order to comply with the implementation of the US Marine Mammals 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 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.

12. Combined form / Logbook

Licence holders must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a prequalified supplier identified by DFO, whose list is available at the following address:

Prequalified logbook suppliers

The Logbook section must be duly completed before arrival at port on each fishing expedition.

13. Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

Commercial diving fishing: All vessels must be equipped with an active VMS approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each licence holder must register their approved VMS with DFO prior to commencing fishing activities. Data must be transmitted every 15 minutes.

The current list of DFO-approved VMS units and the procedure and form to register a VMS unit are available at the following address: National Vessel Monitoring System

14. Incidental Catches

No bycatch may be kept.

15. Boat

Leasing of boats from outside the North Shore is prohibited.

16. Participation Requirement

An annual participation clause of 227 kg could be applied for the renewal of exploratory fishing licences. Catches must be registered with DFO by December 31 of the current year by a purchaser registered with the Department.

17. 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).

18. 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.

19. Discharge of waste

In 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 Notice to Fish Harvesters available at the following address: New condition of licence relating to discharge of garbage season 2022 (2022-03-29) (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

20. Conditions of licence

To obtain their Conditions of licence, fish harvesters must access the National Online Licensing System and make the request. 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  : 1-800-463-1729

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries