Notices to Fish Harvesters

1. Application

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) for Atlantic halibut applies to groundfish licence holders from the following fleets when conducting Atlantic halibut fishing activities in NAFO's 4RST Zone Divisions during the management year from May 15, 2023 to May 14, 2024.

• Upper and Middle North Shore fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m (UMNS);
• Lower North Shore fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m (LNS).

Please note that:

• This CHP is subject to change following Departmental decisions;
• Directed fishing for any other groundfish species requires a separate harvesting plan;
• When the fishery is conducted in a NAFO division other than those provided in this CHP, that division’s CHP applies;
• The round weight is the weight before any treatment.

2. Fishing Areas

Based on valid Conditions of Licence and subject to a Variation Order, licence holders are authorized to fish for Atlantic halibut in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Divisions 4RST.

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 closure

3.1 Protection of fish during spawn and cod concentrations

The protection of fish during the spawning period and in areas where there are concentrations of juveniles is a priority that the Department and the industry consider very important for cod stock recovery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The following conservation measures apply:

Description of areas and period of closure during spawning and cod concentrations.

• Closure of all groundfish fisheries from April 1 to June 23 in part of NAFO Division 4R off shore from St. George’s Bay and Port-au-Port Bay, which is a recognized spawning area - From April 1 to June 23
• Closure of directed Atlantic halibut fishery in NAFO Subdivisions 4T7 et 4T8 - From January 1 to December 31
• Closure of groundfish fisheries in subdivision 4T5 (Shediac Valley), which is a recognized juvenile area - From January 1 to December 31
• Closure of the groundfish fishery in a part of subdivision 4T3 (Miscou Bank), recognized as a cod concentration area with the exception of the portion bounded by a line connecting points 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 2 which remains open to the Atlantic halibut fishery using fixed gear from June 24 to December 31.* - From January 1 to December 31

* For more details, please see the attached map :

MAP AND COORDINATES OF MISCOU BANK AND THE PORTION OPEN TO THE ATLANTIC HALIBUT FISHERY

Table of coordinates of the portion of Miscou Bank open to halibut from June 24 to December 31

Point	Latitude	Longitude
1	48º15'00"	64º22'00"
2	47º52'00"	64º22'00"
3	47º52'00"	64º02'00"
4	48º15'00"	64º02'00"
5	48º09'00"	64º22'00"
6	48º09'00"	64º10'00"
7	47º55'00"	64º10'00"
8	47º52'00"	64º15'00"

Note: The lines connecting in order points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 1 represent the permanently closed area (red zone), that is, part of the traditional Miscou box.

The lines connecting in order items 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 2 represent the open portion for the directed halibut fishery between June 24 and December 31 (green zone).

3.2 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.

 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.

3.3 Temporary closure for Atlantic Halibut directed fishery

Licence holders are advised of the continued temporary closure of part of the 4T division, considering the excessive by-catch of cod previously observed. This area will remain closed until further notice, and is bounded by straight lines delineated by the following points:

1. 49°02’00" N   64°10’00" W
2. 48°31’00" N   62°37’00" W
3. 48°23’00" N   63°08’00" W
4. 48°46’00" N   64°10’00" W
5. 49°02’00" N   64°10’00" W

4. Fishing seasons

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.

Fishing period according to North shore fleets of less than 19.81 m with fixed gear.

Fleets

UMNS : Authorized fishing periods

• 1st period: May 30,  2023 at 5 a.m. (EDT) to June 26, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT);
• 2nd  period: July 15, 2023 at 5 a.m. (EDT) to August 25, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT);
• 3rd  period: April 17, 2024 at 5 a.m. (EDT) to May 14, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

LNS : Authorized fishing periods

• To June 12, 2023 at 5 a.m. (EDT) to September 18, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT);

Each licence holder of the UMNS is allowed to participate in both fishing periods, however, he must ensure that he holds sufficient allocations to cover the catches that are likely to be made during the fishery.

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.  Quotas and Management Regime

The Division 4RST Atlantic halibut allocation is derived in part from the basic allocation to the Gulf <19.81m fixed gear fleets and the allocation temporarily transferred from the mobile gear fleet to the fixed gear fleet in accordance with established sharing formulas.

On April 15, 2016, under the coordination of the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), representatives of groundfish fishermen's associations holding fixed gear licenses agreed on a sharing agreement of the overall Atlantic halibut quota and the distribution among the three geographic sectors of Québec maritime. The agreement has been recognized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and it confirms an adjustment to the shares of Quebec's geographic fleets and their relative shares of the Quebec allocation according to the following percentages:

• North Shore of Quebec = 18.4277%;
• Gaspésie = 66.9401%;
• Îles-de-la-Madeleine = 14.6322%.

Any additional allocation to the Quebec fixed gear fleets will be shared according to these same percentages.

For 2023-2024, the overall quota allocated to the three Quebec geographical fleets corresponds to 1025.644 t. The sharing of this quota is therefore as follows:

• North Shore = 189,002 t;
• Gaspé = 686,567 t;
• Magdalen Islands = 120,059 t.

Allocation shares by fleet.

Sectoral allocation share (t) 189,002 t :

Fleets : UMNS

• Allocation (%) - 54 %
• Quantity (t) - 102,061

Fleets : LNS

• Allocation (%) - 46 %
• Quantity (t) - 86,941

Administrative guidelines of the ITQ program of the Atlantic halibut fleet are included in the regional guidelines, which is available on the DFO Quebec Region website at the following address: REGIONAL GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTA PROGRAMS.

6. Fishing Gear

The authorized fishing gear is the longline with a hook opening equal to or greater than 15.4 mm. The quantity of hooks authorized varies according to the allocation held by the license holder, including quantities transferred or received by transfer. The maximum number of hooks allowed for each fleet is summarized in Table 4.

Maximum number of hooks allowed per fleet.

Fleets : UMNS

Maximum quantity of hooks allowed

• 0 to 250 kg : 100
• 251 to 500 kg : 250
• 501 to 1500 kg : 1000
• 1501 and more : 1500

Fleets : LNS

Maximum quantity of hooks allowed

• 0 to 199 kg : 100
• 200 to 549 kg : 250
• 550 and more : 1000

Each licence holder must carry documentation of the quantities of Atlantic halibut transferred or received by transfer on all fishing trips.

It is the responsibility of the licence holders to ensure that the soak time of their fishing gear never exceeds 72 hours.

It is prohibited to have more fishing gear on board the vessel than the maximum allowed for fishing under the allocation held.

 7. 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:

7.1 Amount of Rope Floating on the Surface of the Water

The 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 attaching a  longline to a primary buoy shall remain floating 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.

7.2 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 : Groundfish (longline)

Twine colours for marking : Green-Pink

The gear marking requirement consisting of interlacing different coloured twine sections within existing rope must be implemented as follows:

a) The first colour to identify specific Region – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as  the second colour.

b) 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: colour-notice-avis-couleur-eng.pdf.

7.3 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.

7.4 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 Sign in 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 Sign in 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.

7.5 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.).

8. 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.

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.

9. Hail Prior To Departure

Hail prior departure are mandatory for all participants.

Licence holders must call the DFO hail out system by 19 h the day before each fishing expedition.

10. At-sea Observer

Industry-funded at-sea observers program applies to a minimum coverage of 10% of fishing expeditions.

Before the start of a fishing expedition, licence holders must have come to an agreement regarding at-sea observers coverage with a company legally designated by DFO-Quebec Region.

If an individual or fleet is suspected of discarding groundfish at sea, in addition to other regulatory options including fishery closures and court proceedings, there may be increased at-sea observer coverage.

11. Dockside Monitoring

The Dockside Monitoring Program (DMP) is mandatory for 100% of landings.

Before the beginning of a fishing expedition, licence holders must have come to an agreement with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by DFO, a list of which is available at the following address:

Monitoring Programs

Landings must be done at a designated port which appears on the list published on DFO’s website at the following address:

Designated Dockside Monitoring Ports

Also, further information about designated ports is available at the following address: Maps of small craft harbours

12. Catch and effort data declaration

12.1 Combined form / Logbook

Licence holders must acquire their booklet of Combined form from a prequalified supplier identified by DFO, a list of which is available at the following address: Prequalified Logbook Suppliers

Complete it in accordance with the instructions specified in the document and give it to the dockside observer or other person designated by DFO at the time of landing

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

13. Vessel Monitoring System

Vessels in the UMNS fleet must have an active Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each licence holder must register their approved VMS with DFO prior to the commencement of their fishing activities. Data must be transmitted for the UMNS fleet every 30 minutes.

The VMS could become mandatory for LNS licence holders for the 2024-2025 season.

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 Service

14. Incidental Catches

Bycatch is defined as the round weight (entire fish) of a bycatch species divided by the round weight (entire fish) of the directed species, in this case, Atlantic halibut.

Fishers must ensure that they have the necessary ITQs to cover the bycatch likely to be caught on their fishing trip.

If bycatch limits per fishing trip are exceeded, the fishery may be closed and legal proceedings may be initiated.

Groundfish bycatch limits allowed per fishing trip in 4RST of NAFO are:

Fleets : UMNS and LNS

• Cod : The larger of 30% or 45 kg per fishing trip.
• Greenland Halibut : 3 % per fishing trip.
• White Hake : 5 % per fishing trip.
• Shark : The lesser of 10% or 500 kg per fishing trip and the fisher must hold Licence conditions authorizing authorizing the by-catch of shark.
• Other groundifsh species : 10 % per fishing trip.

15. Small fish protocol

The minimum size of fish under the small fish protocol is:

• Cod - 3 cm
• American plaice - 30 cm
• Witch flounder - 30 cm
• White hake - 45 cm
• Winter flounder - 25 cm
• Yellowtail flounder - 25 cm
• Greenland halibut - 44 cm
• Atlantic halibu - -85 cm
• Redfish - 22 cm

All specimens of Atlantic halibut less than 85 cm must be returned to the water immediately and, if the fish is still alive, handled in a manner that causes it the least harm.

Areas may be closed to fishing for the fleet or parts of the fleet when the number of undersized fish reaches 15% of the catch of any of the aforementioned species.

16. Simultaneous fisheries

For the UMNS and LNS fleets, a licence holder/fishing vessel operator holding an Atlantic halibut licence condition who also holds a snow crab licence condition is not permitted to land both species on the same fishing trip.

For UMNS and LNS fleets, when fishing under these licence conditions, the licence holder/fishing vessel operator is not permitted to fish for any other groundfish species under other licence conditions on the same fishing expedition.

17. Catch monitoring and test fisheries

Small fish and bycatch closures due to high catch levels are for a minimum duration of 10 days. The cost of conducting all test fisheries is borne by the industry. If a fishery is closed, it will remain closed until DFO determines that it can be effectively monitored and controlled. If any particular fishery is closed twice during the same year because of high levels of bycatch or small fish, it may remain closed for the remainder of the year.

18. Boat

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the rental of boats outside the North Shore and the use of North Shore and the use of boats over 15.24 m will not be permitted.

19 Partnership (combining of licences)

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

For the UMNS fleet, a maximum of two licence holders per partnership agreement is allowed.

 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.

20. Conversion Rate

The conversion rate from gutted Atlantic halibut weight to round (whole) fish weight is 1.14. The conversion rate of head off gutted Atlantic halibut weight to round (whole) fish weight is 1.25.

21. Quota reconciliation

Under quota reconciliation, any quota overruns in a given year, whether within an individual quota system or in a competitive fishery, are counted against the quota established for the following season. For example, quota overruns incurred at the end of one year of administration will be deducted, on a one-for-one basis, from the licenses or fleets quotas the following year.

In implementing quota reconciliation, the Department authorizes quota transfers to allow fishers and fleets to cover quota overruns until a cut-off date, after which the Department compares the final fishing data. This date corresponds to the end of the groundfish fishery management year, May 14. Also, during the weeks following this date, the Department makes the necessary adjustments to the current year's quotas by considering the overruns of competitive and individual quotas.

In addition, for the ITQ fishery, it is the responsibility of the license holder to respect the quantity allocated to him taking into account his transfers and landings. They must also make arrangements to cover any quota overruns from previous fishing trips, if applicable, prior to the departure of a fishing trip and hold the necessary quota to cover the catch that is likely to be taken on the trip.

22. Other Management Measures

The carry-over of residual Atlantic halibut quotas from the previous year is allowed, up to a maximum of 15% of the basic quotas.

23. 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, the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) and exceptionally the White Shark (Atlantic 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).

24. 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 Notice detail - Online Publications Tool  or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

25. 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 Notice detail - Online Publications Tool

26. 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 :

North Shore area: 1-800-463-1729

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Quebec Region