Notices to Fish Harvesters

1. Application

This Conservation harvesting plan is applicable to all Whelk fishing licence holders in the Quebec region.

 

2. Fishing Areas

Areas 1 à 9: North Shore area.

Areas 11 à 14: Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence area.

Areas 15: Magdalen Islands area.

 

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
   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.

1. 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

Durations of fishing seasons may vary between 23 to 30 weeks according to the areas. They represent the maximum duration of fishing periods. Opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances 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.

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 or Variation Orders.

Forecasts of air temperatures below 0 ºC for the first week of fishing and / or ice cover may delay the opening. An opening committee is in place. The opening date will be confirmed by a Variation Order following the final recommendation of the opening committee and an agreement on the opening date.

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.

Areas	2023 Start	2023 End	2023 Length (weeks)	2024 Start	2024 End	2024 Length (weeks)	2025 Start	2025 End	2025 Length (weeks)
1	29 March	17 Sept.	25	1 April	22 Sept.	25	30 March	20 Sept.	25
2	1 April	9 Sept.	23	1 April	8 Sept.	23	30 March	6 Sept.	23
3	16 April	11 Nov.	30	15 April	10 Nov.	30	13 April	8 Nov.	30
4	23 April	21 Oct.	26	22 April	20 Oct.	26	20 April	18 Oct.	26
5	9 April	7 Oct.	26	8 April	6 Oct.	26	12 April	10 Oct.	26
6	24 April	23 Oct.	26	24 April	23 Oct.	26	24 April	23 Oct.	26
7	24 April	23 Oct.	26	24 April	23 Oct.	26	24 April	23 Oct.	26
8	20 April	25 Oct.	27	22 April	27 Oct.	27	20 April	25 Oct.	27
9	9 April	23 Oct	28	8 April	23 Oct	28	12 April	23 Oct.	28
11	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26
12	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26
13	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26
14	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26	1 April	30 Sept.	26
15	August 1	Nov. 30	18	August 1	Nov. 30	18	August 1	Nov. 30	18

5. Number of licences and access

Area	Number of licenses
1	8
2	6
3	7
4	27
5	17
6	15
7	6
8	64
9	1
11	16
12	29
13	9
14	13
15	11

Whelk licence holders in areas 5, 6 and 7 also have access to area 9.

 

 

 

6. Quotas

Areas	Allocations
1	491 t
2	109 t
11	11 t
12	55 t
13	73 t
15	To be determined

 

7. Management Regime

Areas 1, 2 and 11 to 13: Competitive fishing regime with TAC.

Areas 3 to 9 and 14: Competitive fishing regime managed by fishing effort.

Area 15: Individual quota (IQ)

 

8. Minimum catch size

Area	Minimum size (mm)
1	70
2	70
3	80
4	85
5	85
6	85
7	85
8	80
9	80
11	80
12	80
13	2023: 75 From 2024 : 80
14	80
15	75

Whelk length consists of the distance measured in a straight line through the longest part of the shell.

 

9. Fishing Gear

This section includes the terms related to the number and the volume of traps authorized (see table on following page).

For every fishing areas, fishers are responsible for pulling up their fishing gear at least once every 72 hours.

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 (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

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.

Areas	Number of authorized traps and permanent businesses merging options	Maximum external volume authorized for traps
1 à 7 et 9 (North Shore)	The number of authorized traps is written on the licence and is specific to each one. The following details apply: a)   Current whelk licence holders who are authorized to use 150 traps under a grandfather clause will retain this privilege. However, the grandfather clause will lapse if the licence is transferred to someone else than a son or daughter. The new licence holder will then be authorized to use 100 traps; b)   In area 1: ·   When businesses merge permanently and one whelk fishing licence authorizing the use of 50 traps and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 100 traps are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 125 traps; ·   When businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 100 traps or more are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 175 traps; ·   When businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 100 traps or more and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 50 traps are involved, two licences will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 200 traps; ·   When businesses merge permanently and three whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 100 traps ore more are involved, two licences will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 200 traps. c)   In area 5: ·   when businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of more than 100 traps are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and  the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 150 traps. ·   when businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 50 traps and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 100 traps are involved, two licences will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 150 traps.	0,3 m3 (10,6 ft3)
8 (North Shore)	The number of authorized traps is 100 traps. In order to favor area 8 exploration, the Department is willing to consider pilot projects aiming the use of a maximum of 200 traps in zones of area 8 outside of the sector bounded by straight lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed: 51° 25' 50" N 57° 12' 46" O 51° 20' 50" N 57° 12' 46" O 51° 25' 00" N 57° 06' 45" O Licence holders exercising this option are not authorized to fish whelk in the sector previously described, near Blanc-Sablon. A Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) approved by DFO, with data transmission every 15 minutes, is mandatory for this pilot project.Each licence holder must register his DFO-approved VMS unit prior to the beginning of his fishing activities. Prior authorization from the Department will be needed in that sense; one should allow a reasonable time frame for the analysis of the project. Pilot projects allowing the use of a maximum of 200 traps will be assessed annually to consider renewal.	0,3 m3 (10,6 ft3)
11 à 14 (Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence)	The number of authorized traps is written on the licence and is specific to each one. The following details apply: When businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of more than 100 traps are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 175 traps;   b)   When businesses merge permanently and two whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 50 traps and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 100 traps are involved, two licences will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 175 traps; c)   When businesses merge permanently and one whelk fishing licence authorizing the use of 50 traps and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 100 traps are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 125 traps; d) )   When businesses merge permanently and one whelk fishing licence authorizing the use of 50 traps and one fishing licence authorizing the use of 175 traps are involved, one licence will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 200 traps;   e)   When businesses merge permanently and three whelk fishing licences authorizing the use of 50 traps are involved, two licences will be withdrawn and the independent Core licence holder will be authorized to use up to 100 traps.	a)   0,3 m3 (10,6 ft3) for whelk fishing licence holders authorized to use 50, 100, 125 or 175 traps.   b)   0,15 m3 (5,3 ft3) for whelk fishing licence holders authorized to use 150 traps. These fish harvesters will retain this privilege (grandfather clause) until there is a change in licence holder. The new licence holder will then be authorized to use 100 traps
15 (Magdalen Islands)	150 traps	0,3 m3 (10,6 ft3)

 

 

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:

1. 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 be remain floating 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.

1. 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
Whelk	Green-White

 

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

 

1. 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.
  
  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 Systemor 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.

 

1. 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

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. Hail-out email

Areas 11 to 14: Licence holders must contact Fisheries and Oceans Canada by e-mail at XLAUMPO-Gaspe-260@dfo-mpo.gc.ca  by 7:00 p.m. on the day prior to the departure of each trip.

Areas 1-9 and 15: Not applicable

 

13. Dockside Monitoring

It is mandatory to hail in to a local dockside monitoring company prior to landing for all areas except for area 8.

Area 15: Sporadic coverage of the dockside monitoring program (DMP) is in place.

Reference to the list of designated ports  : Map of small craft harbours.

14. Catch and effort data declaration
    1. Combined form / Logbook

Fish harvesters must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a prequalified supplier, identified by DFO. The logbook section of the Combined Form must be completed at the end of each fishing day. The licence holder/fishing vessel operator must forward his Combined form completed truthfully to his Fisheries and Oceans Canada area office, without exception within the following time frame:

1. Within 7 days following the landing when he lands in the Quebec Region;
2. Within 10 days following the landing when he lands in a region other than the Quebec Region.

15. Incidental Catches

Incidental catches cannot be retained.

16. Simultaneous fisheries

Management measures related to simultaneous fisheries for each fishing area are detailed in the license conditions.

 

17. Partnership (combining of licences)

Areas 1, 2, 4 to 7 and 11 to 14: Buddy-up agreement between two licence holders of a whelk licence from the same area will be authorized between two fish harvesters who have registered whelk landings during the last two years prior to their demand. Fish harvesters involved in a partnership agreement are allowed to use a maximum number of traps corresponding to the sum of the maximum number of traps authorized by each of their licences. This measure is a pilot project and its impact will be evaluated at the end of each season to consider pursuing or modifying it.

Area 8: Buddy-up agreement between two licence holders of a whelk licence in sub-area 8-1 will be authorized between two fish harvesters who have registered whelk landings during the last 2 years prior their demand. Fish harvesters involved in a partnership agreement are allowed to use 225 traps. The impact of this measure will be evaluated at the end of each season to consider pursuing or modifying it.

Area 15: Buddy-up agreement between two licence holders is authorized. Fish harvesters involved in a partnership agreement are allowed to use a maximum number of traps that corresponds to the addition of the maximum number of traps authorized by each licence.

18. Quota reconciliation

Areas 1, 2, 11, 12, 13 and 14: In accordance with the quota reconciliation, any quota overrun incurred in an area during a fishing season will be deducted from the quota for this area for the following season by a one-to-one ratio.

Area 15: In accordance with the quota reconciliation, any quota overrun incurred by a fish harvester during a fishing season will be deducted from his quota for the following season by a one-to-one ratio.

19. 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).

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 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.

 

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 season 2022 (2022-03-29) (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 question regarding this CHP

You may call at  :

 

Magdelen Islands area: 418-986-2095

North Shore area: 1-800-463-1729

Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence area: 1-877-898-5559

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries