Notices to Fish Harvesters

Subject:     Announcement of the opening for the Atlantic halibut fishery, Lower North Shore fleet

Sept-Îles – June 7, 2023

Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Quebec Region announces the opening for the Atlantic halibut fishery in NAFO Divisions 4RST by the Lower North Shore (LNS) fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m under the Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ) regime in 2023-2024.

The opening is scheduled for Monday, June 12, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. (EDT) as recommended by the fleet representatives. The fishery will close on Monday, September 18, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

The initial allocation allowed to the fleet in 2023-2024 prior the application of the quota carryover and reconciliation is 86.94 t.

It is important to remember that it is the responsibility of the licence holder to monitor their ITQs to ensure that the catches made in their fishing activities respect the ITQs allocated to them, taking into account their transfers and landings. It must also make arrangements to cover any quota overruns that occur on previous fishing trips, if applicable, prior to the departure of a fishing trip and hold the necessary quotas to cover the catches likely to be made on that trip.

Partnership (combining of licences)

The partnership agreement is permitted between licence holders of LNS fleets less than 19.81 m with fixed gear. 

For the LNS fleet, a maximum of four licence holders per partnership agreement is allowed.

Only one partnership agreement per licence holder per year is authorized. All licence holders registered in the agreement must be on board the same vessel. Landings are counted in proportion to the respective individual quota.

Licence holders will be held jointly responsible for illegal acts committed during fishing activities, if any.

Licence holders involved in a partnership agreement may use a maximum number of gears equivalent to the addition of the maximum authorized number of each licence holder involved in the partnership agreement. Please refer to point 6 of this PPAC for the number of gears allowed.

The agreement must be submitted to DFO at least 5 working days before the first fishing trip. Except for exceptional reasons, the partnership is effective for the duration of the fishing season of the species concerned. Furthermore, unless there are exceptional reasons, DFO will not issue any replacement authorization to fishers involved in a partnership agreement.

Conditions of Licence

In order to obtain the Conditions of Licence, licence holders will have to apply for them through the National Licensing System online.  For assistance with the National Online Licensing System, please contact Customer Support by phone at 1-877-535-7307 or by e-mail at fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Conservation harvesting plan 2023-2024

Other management measures are listed in the 2022-2023 Conservation Harvesting Plan for Atlantic halibut Fishery in NAFO Divisions 4RST by the LNS fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m under ITQ regime, available on the DFO website at the following address: Publications to Fish Harvesters - Online Publications Tool.

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Quebec Region.

Resource Management

North Shore Area

Fisheries and Oceans Canada