Notices to Fish Harvesters

CHP - SEA URCHIN – EXPLORATORY FISHING AREA 8 - LOWER ST. LAWRENCE AREA SEASONS 2022-2025

Date of Notice

Approved July 26, 2022

1. Application

The present conservation harvesting plan (CHP) applies to sea  urchin exploratory licence holders of area 8, from August 1, 2022 to May 31, 2025.

2. Fishing Areas

The sea urchin fishing sub-areas are marked by straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed and closing to the coast:

SUB-AREA 8A:

  • 48°42'00"             N         67°56'04''      W
  • 48°49'11.3''         N         68°03'26.5''   W
  • 48°39'28.6''         N         68°28'11''      W
  • 48°33'07''             N         68°23'00''      W

SUB-AREA 8B:

  • 48°33'07"             N         68°23'00''      W
  • 48°39'28.6''         N         68°28'11''      W
  • 48°30'21.4''         N         68°51'26.4''   W
  • 48°22'41''             N         68°43'39''      W

SUB-AREA 8C:

  • 48°19'52.8"         N         68°51'27.4"   W
  • 48°27'00"             N         69°00'00"      W
  • 48°16'34.5''         N         69°15'06.3''   W
  • 48°11'29.5''         N         69°06'22''      W

SUB-AREA 8D:

  • 48°09'05"             N         69°08'46"      W
  • 48°14'56"             N         69°18'40"      W
  • 48°12'15"             N         69°25'00"      W
  • 48°01'12"             N         69°34'47"      W
  • 47°58'24"             N         69°27'37"      W

SUB-AREA 8E:

  • 47°58'24"             N         69°27'37"      W
  • 48°01'12"             N         69°34'47"      W
  • 47°53'48"             N         69°41'15"      W
  • 47°47'55"             N         69°46'19"      W
  • 47°46'49"             N         69°47'34.5"   W
  • 47°43'40"             N         69°40'22"      W

SUB-AREA 8F:

  • 47°40'30"             N         69°43’53"      W
  • 47°43'54''             N         69°50'54''      W
  • 47°38'56"             N         69°56'33"      W
  • 47°34'32"             N         70°03'27"      W
  • 47°30’34"             N         69°57’26"      W

SUB-AREA 8G:

  • 47°30'34"            N         69°57’26"      W
  • 47°34'32"             N         70°03'27"      W
  • 47°37'45"             N         70°08'22"      W
  • 47°02'57"             N         70°48'40"      W
  • 46°56'08"             N         70°44'11"      W

The fishing sub-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 seasons

The season will run from August 1 of this year to May 31 of the following year.

At all times, it is prohibited to fish sea urchins more than half an hour before sunrise or more than half an hour after sunset.

The season established above will be in effect for the duration of this CHP. They represent the maximum duration of fishing period. 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.

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.

4. Quotas

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) between January 1 and December 31 of each year :

  • Sub-area 8D: 126 t
  • Sub-area 8E: 110.7 t

A maximum catch limit of 85 t applies within in sub-area 8E1 defined as the sub-area of 8E bounded by straight lines joining the following points in the order listed:

  1. 47°53'48,0"         N         69°41'15,0"   W
  2. 47°55'39,8"         N         69°39’37,6"   W
  3. 47°53'35,7"         N         69°40'43,8"   W
  4. 47°55'’27,5"         N         69°39'06,4"   W

Catches taken in sub-area 8E-1 are deducted from the TAC of sub-area 8E

5. Management Regime

Competitive fishing regime.

6. Minimum catch size

50 mm (test width (shell)).

7. Fishing Gear

Manual harvesting by diving

When one fishing boat (main) is involved in the fishing trip, a maximum of 5 divers is allowed, at any time, either diving and/or on board the boat.

When a secondary boat is used in addition to the main boat, a maximum of 2 divers at any time, either diving and/or on board the boat, is allowed.

8. Boat

The main boat used must be less than 15.24 m in overall length (LOA), regardless of the volumetric index.

The use of a secondary boat, in addition to the main boat, is permitted under certain conditions :

  • the secondary vessel must be less than 8 m in overall length (LOA);
  • when a secondary boat is used, it must only be used for diver deployment operations and for the transportation of urchins. No handling (measuring and sorting of urchins) is allowed on the secondary boat;
  • transport and diver deployment activities must be conducted on one vessel at a time and all members of the fishing expedition must be on board or deployed from the same vessel.

Both (main and secondary) boats must be registered.

9. 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 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.

9.1 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, behavior of the individual, details on the weather and the state of the sea, etc.).

10. 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.

11. Hail in

It is mandatory to hail in to a local dockside monitoring company prior to landing.

Before the beginning of a fishing trip, the licence holder/vessel operator must have entered into an agreement with a Dockside Monitoring Company legally designated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for no dockside monitoring Hail in.

12. Combined form / Logbook

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

A log must be kept in the section of the combined form provided for this purpose. This section must be completed prior to arrival at the dock and the combined form must be returned to the Gaspé DFO office no later than 7 days after each fishing trip.

13. Vessel Monitoring System

All vessels used on fishing trips must have an active Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each licence holder must register his DFO-approved VMS unit prior to the beginning of his fishing activities. Data transmission every 15 minutes is required.

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. Electronic Monitoring System

A Fisheries and Oceans approved electronic monitoring system (EMS) is mandatory on all vessels used in fishing trips. Licence holders must allow qualified installers and Fishery Officers access to their vessel for the installation, removal and maintenance of the EMS, as well as for the installation or retrieval of the EMS memory card or hard drive. Prior to leaving the dock for a fishing trip and during all activities related to that fishing trip (harvesting, handling, measuring, sorting urchins and transporting and deploying divers), licence holders must ensure that the EMS is functional and that the camera lens remains clean so that the quality of the video or photos is not reduced.

15. Quota reconciliation

In accordance with the quota reconciliation, any quota overrun incurred in an area will be deducted from the quota for this area for the following season by a one-to-one ratio. For the purposes of quota reconciliation, landings are counted annually for the period January 1 to December 31 and deducted from the TACs in effect for that same period.

16. Other Management Measures

Participation clause :

The participation clause of 4536 kg (10,000 lbs) for all areas and subareas of the Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence sector is maintained. This quantity must have been caught during the current calendar year for the exploratory licence to be renewed for the following year.

Simultaneous activities:

Under no circumstances may fishing activities conducted under a provincial sea urchin aquaculture licence be combined with a sea urchin fishing trip conducted under exploratory licence conditions. In addition, it is prohibited to transfer or move sea urchins from one location to another, including rearing facilities.

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 fishingpeche@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 following 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. 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.