Notices to Fish Harvesters
SEA URCHIN – AREA 8 – LOWER ST. LAWRENCE AREA SEASONS 2025-2027
Approved July 23, 2025
1. Application
This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to holders of diving sea urchin fishing licence in Area 8, for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons.
2. Fishing Areas
- Sub-area 8D : From Anse des Riou to the western tip of Île Verte
- Sub-area 8E : from the western tip of Île Verte to the Archipel des Pèlerin.
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
3.1 Exclusion site
An exclusion site, linked to the presence of an aquaculture site within sub-area 8D, is prohibited for fishing.
The exclusion site coordinates are listed in the Conditions of Licence.
4. Fishing Seasons
For the 2025 season:
From August 1 to December 31.
From 2026:
From mid-March to December 31.
It is prohibited to fish sea urchins at night, i.e. during the period beginning half an hour after sunset and ending half an hour before sunrise.
The following seasons will be in effect for the duration of this CHP. They represent the maximum duration of fishing periods, subject among other things to orders and specific closure 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.
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. Management Regime
Competitive fishing regime.
5.1 Number of licences and access
- Sub-area 8D: 1 commercial licence
- Sub-area 8E: 1 communal commercial licence
5.2 Quotas
- Sub-area 8D: 126 t
- Sub-area 8E: 110.7 t
A maximum catch limit of 85 t applies within fishing sub-area 8E-1. Catches taken in sub-area 8E-1 are deducted from the total allowable catch (TAC) of sub-area 8E. In accordance with the quota reconciliation, any quota overrun incurred in an sub-area will be deducted from the quota for this sub-area for the following season by a one-to-one ratio.
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. 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.).
9. Marine Mammal Interaction Reporting
Licence holders and fishing vessel operators 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, within 48 hours after the end of a fishing trip. To do this, the licence holder and fishing vessel operator must complete the section reserved for that purpose in its ELOG or the marine mammal interaction form available online at Report a marine mammal or sea turtle incident or sighting and attached to the Conditions of licence, and it must be submitted as per the instructions provided on the form.
The information provided 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.
10. Fishing Activities Declaration and Monitoring
Licence holders must keep a true record of their fishing activities and catches in their Combined form or in their Electronic logbook.
10.1 Combined form / Logbook
The licence holder must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a Prequalified supplier identified by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a list of which is available at the following address: Prequalified Logbook Suppliers.
The logbook portion of this form must be properly completed each fishing day before docking. The combined form must be returned to the Gaspé DFO office no later than 7 days after each fishing trip.
10.2 Electronic logbook
The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is optional in 2025. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the Quebec region for the form ELOG – Logbook – Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Marine Plants and Hunting. Furthermore, fish harvesters must have obtained and installed their Elog Key in their client application in order to allow data transmission to the Department.
The Elog must be completed for each fishing expedition and “closed” before arriving at port. A fishing expedition means a voyage that commences at the time a fishing vessel leaves a port to engage in fishing and terminates at the time fish caught during that period are offloaded. Hence, when a fisher goes back to port for a reason other than for offloading fish and leaves port again, the fishing expedition goes on until fish are offloaded.
To consult the list of client applications approved by the Department and to obtain you Elog key, visit Fisheries and Ocean’s web page at the following address: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS)
To request a modification to data that has been transmitted to Fisheries and Oceans, you must communicate with the client support service at 1-877-535-7307.
10.3 Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
The use of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) approved by DFO is mandatory. 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 Service
10.4 Electronic Monitoring System (EMS)
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.
10.5 Hail in
It is mandatory to hail in before arriving at port.
Before the beginning of a fishing trip, the licence holder and the fishing vesser operator must have entered into an agreement with a Dockside Monitoring Company legally designated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for a hail in without dockside monitoring.
The list of accredited and designated companies is available on the DFO website: Commercial fishery requirements - Regional List of Qualified and Designated Companies
11. Particularities Applicable to the Fishery
11.1 Characteristics and Use of Boats
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.
11.2 Simultaneous fisheries
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 or commercial fishing licence conditions. In addition, it is prohibited to transfer or move sea urchins from one location to another, including rearing facilities.
12. 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).
13. 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 to Fish Harvesters or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
14. 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 and fishing vessel operator are 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 to Fish Harvesters
15. 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.
Note: In the event of a discrepancy between the French and English versions of the CHP, the French version shall prevail.
Approved by:
Maryse Lemire
Fisheries Management Regional Director
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Quebec
For any question regarding this CHP
You may call at :
Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence area:
1-877-898-5559
For additional information
Please visit our website at the following address: Quebec Region