Notices to Fish Harvesters

Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Quebec Region announces the opening of the Atlantic halibut fishery for the Gaspé fixed gear fleet less than 13.71 m from the Lobster fishers group in the 4RST divisions.

As stipulated in the Notice to Fish Harvesters of July 10, 2023, the 4RST Atlantic halibut allocation of the Gaspé fixed gear fleet less than 13.71 m from the Lobster fishers group is now managed under an Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ) regime.

Exceptionally for the 2023-2024 fishing season, temporary ITQ transfers of Atlantic halibut 4RST will not be authorized in derogation of the Regional Directive, in order to promote fleet rationalization. The effectiveness of this measure will be assessed at the end of the season, and may be renewed for a further year.

The fishery will be authorized from July 14, 2023 at 4:00 a.m.(EDT), to September 22, 2023 at 11;59 p.m. (EDT). Please note that a second 4-week fishing period will be authorized in spring 2024, dates to be specified. Each licence holder of the fleet is authorized to take part to both fishing periods.

The authorized fishing gear is the longline. All hooks must have an opening of at least 15.4 mm. The number of hooks allowed is presented in Table 1 and is established according to the allocation held by the licence holder.

Table 1: Number of hooks authorized depending on the allocation held

• 0 to 749 kg: 900 hooks
• 750 and over: 1500 hooks

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

Vessel Monitoring System (VSM)

The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) is not mandatory in the Atlantic halibut fishery for the 2023-2024 fishing season. However, as of the 2024-2025 season, boats will have to be equipped with an active VMS approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each licence holder will have to register their approved VMS with DFO prior to the beginning of their fishing activities of the 2024-2025 season.

Reconciliation of quotas

The reconciliation of groundfish quotas applies to this fishery. Thus, any overrun of an individual quota incurred by a licence holder at the end of a management year will be deducted, on a one-for-one basis, from his individual quota in the following year(s). It is the responsibility of licence holders to monitor their Atlantic halibut quotas and to ensure that catches made in their fishing activities are in accordance with the quotas allocated to them. As stipulated in the 2022-2023 Conservation-based harvesting plan (CHP), any overrun of the Individual Maximum Catch Limit incurred during the 2022-2023 fishing season will be deducted, on a one-for-one basis, from the ITQ of the 2023-2024 season, and of the following seasons if applicable.

Management measures for the Atlantic halibut fishery are detailed in the CHP for the 4RST Atlantic Halibut fishery by the Gaspé fixed gear fleet of less than 13.71 m for the Lobster fishers Group for the 2023-2024 season, published simultaneously with this Notice to Fish Harvesters.

Licence conditions

To obtain Conditions of Licence, fishers must access the National Licensing System online. For assistance with the National On-Line Licensing System, please contact Client Support by phone at 1-877-535-7307 or by e-mail at fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

For more information

You can obtain additional information concerning the management measures and the fishing areas on our website at:  Commercial Fisheries.

For more information, please call 1-877-898-5559

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence Area

Note: In case of discrepancies between the English and the French versions, the latter prevails.