Richard Nadeau has been appointed Regional Director General of the Quebec Region on December 22, 2008. Mr. Nadeau holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with a specialization in land use management from the University of Sherbrooke.

Since joining Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 1985, Mr. Nadeau has gained vast experience in habitat management and corporate services through various positions, including geographic information systems development consultant with Fish Habitat Management, senior analyst for the St. Lawrence Action Plan, section head, Habitat Evaluation and finally senior project manager, Environmental Assessment.

In 1992, Richard Nadeau accepted a position at HQ as senior habitat analyst.  He was later appointed chief of Atlantic Operations, and finally Regional Director, Habitat Operations. In 2004, he returned to the Quebec Region as Regional Director, Oceans and Habitat, and was subsequently appointed Associate Regional Director General. More recently, he agreed to take on the duties of Regional Director General on an acting basis.

“The economic prosperity and sustainable development of the fisheries and oceans sector are among my priorities for the coming years. Of the Department’s strategic goals and objectives, economic prosperity tops the list. In the Quebec Region, we support the Government of Canada’s objective to promote strong economic growth while continuing to contribute to maintaining sustainable ecosystems.”

“I intend to work closely with the fishing industry and with the Quebec Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to develop and implement long-term solutions to ensure the viability and sustainability of the fisheries in Quebec. hope to build closer ties between my Department and the fishing and aquaculture industry, as well as those sectors involved in the development of the marine sector, such as transportation, energy development or tourism.”

“I also intend to work with sector stakeholders and government organizations to move the conservation of the marine environment forward, particularly the establishment of marine protected areas. Finally, maintaining scientific excellence at Fisheries and Oceans Canada is very important to me: it is critical that the region continue to provide high-quality scientific advice on the state of the marine environment and its resources in support of departmental decisions.”

Richard Nadeau is looking forward to working closely with the many organizations and associations involved in the marine sector.

 

By Nathalie Letendre

The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, announced in January that the Canadian Coast Guard plans to establish a new lifeboat station at Kegaska, on the Lower North Shore.

Kegaska was chosen as the site for a new lifeboat station in a seven-stage selection process, which included a study of search and rescue coverage between Havre-Saint-Pierre and Blanc-Sablon. The assessment took into account the fishing activities that take place in the area as well as a variety of operational considerations. The Canadian Coast Guard will begin discussions with Kegaska officials and stakeholders in order to finalize plans for the station.

“Given the intensive commercial fishing activities and the pleasure boat and ship traffic that characterize the area, Kegaska is a strategic location for a Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat station,” stated Minister Shea. “Furthermore, this will allow us to consolidate our coverage in this critical sector of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.”

The CCGS Cap Percé, a state-of-the-art 14.7-metre vessel, will be assigned to the Kegaska station, joining the six lifeboats already present in the Gulf of St.Lawrence: Havre-Saint-Pierre, Rivière-au-Renard and Cap-aux-Meules in Quebec; Shippagan in New Brunswick; and Lark Harbour and Port au Choix in Newfoundland.

The Canadian Coast Guard expects the new lifeboat station to be operational in 2009.

 

Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat stations are in service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Two crews work on a 21 layday work cycle.

Crews are housed on shore and must be ready to sail in response to distress calls, in English or French, within 30 minutes.

 

On a lifeboat station, each crew includes the following:

Master:

• Master’s certificate, 150 gross tonnage (or more), domestic navigation
• Limited contiguous waters voyage endorsement

Marine Engineer:

• Fourth-class engineer’s certificate, motor ship

Deck Hand:

• Bridge watch rating’s certificate (BW)

Cook/Deck Hand:

• Ship’s cook certificate or
• Certificate or diploma in institutional cooking and significant sea service

Note:
Commercial certificates are issued by Transport Canada.

To learn more about careers with the Canadian Coast Guard, visit www.marinfo.gc.ca or call 1-866-660-6948.

 

 

The following science advisory report is now available on the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat’s Internet site, www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/, in the CSAS Publications section, Science Advisory Reports (2005+) series, year 2008:

• Assessment of Green Sea Urchin of the North Shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary in 2008 (2008/048)

 

By Martin Bourget

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec Region, has released the names of fishermen who have received fines for violations of the Fisheries Act. DFO continues to strictly enforce its zero tolerance policy on violations of theFisheries Act. The Department has a mandate to protect and conserve fishery resources and is ever vigilant in its efforts to prevent poaching of marine resources. Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to report poaching incidents by calling 1-800-463-9057. All calls are confidential.

Offender	Home	Offence	Sentencing date	Fine	Judge
Bertrand Desbois	Sainte-Thérèse de Gaspé	Breaching licence conditions.	October 29, 2008	$1,000	Lucie Morissette
Laval Marie Dionne	Trois-Pistoles	Possession of whelks under the minimum legal size.	October 29, 2008	$1,500	Lucie Morissette
Guy Thibault	Havre-Saint-Pierre	Failure to hail out.	November 12, 2008	$1,000	Louis Duguay
Maxime Boudreau	Havre-Saint-Pierre	Discarding parts of crab harvested under the Fisheries Act at sea and possession of crab parts seperated from the shell.	November 12, 2008	1st count: $750 2nd count: $200	Michel Parent
Hugo Cousineau	Havre-Saint-Pierre	Landing crab without weighing it and discarding parts of crab under the Fisheries Act at sea.	November 12, 2008	1st count: $1500 2nd count: $750	Michel Parent
David Labrie	Sainte-Anne-des-Monts	Possession of whelks under the minimum legal size.	November 24, 2008	$500	Luc Marchildon
Angello Dupuis	Sainte-Anne-des-Monts	Possession of whelks under the minimum legal size.	November 24, 2008	$500	Luc Marchildon
Alcide Boulay	Gaspé	Possession of halibut under the minimum legal size.	December 1, 2008	$1,000	Julie Dionne
Harold Huard	Chandler	Fishing for lobster without a license. Possession of lobster under the minimum legal size. Possession of egg-bearing female lobsters.	December 1, 2008	$600 + 90 hours of community service + prohibited from being on the Chandler and Newport wharves between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. for a period of two years.	Julie Dionne
Guy Laflamme	Rivière-au-Renard	Fishing after the period of validity of his license. Non-compliance with hail-out requirements.	December 4, 2008	$3,000 + confiscation of the proceeds of the sale of the fish seized totalling $3,675.	Julie Dionne
Clermont Côté	Cloridorme	Possession of halibut under the minimum legal size.	December 5, 2008	$400	Julie Dionne
Lisa Dumont	Trois-Pistoles	Possession of whelks under the minimum legal size.	December 9, 2008	$400	Lucie Morissette
Julien Bond	Rivière-au-Tonnerre	Harvesting whelks with too many traps.	December 12, 2008	Fined on the secound count: $1,000 + seizure of 11 traps.	Louise Gallant
Glen Gallichon	Sept-Îles	Fishing Atlantic halibut during closed time.	December 12, 2008	$1000 + forfeiture of the proceeds of the sale in the amount of $3,891.05.	Louise Gallant
Gilles Menunier	Newport	Fishing crab in an unauthorized area.	December 12, 2008	$4000	Louise Gallant
André Rail	Havre-Saint-Pierre	Failing to hail out within time frame and failing to hail out.	December 12, 2008	Fined $1,525 for nine counts.	Louise Gallant
Richard Huet	Matane	Non-compliant vessel number.	December 15, 2008	Fined a total of $400 on four counts.	Luc Marchildon
Éric Duchesne	Tadoussac	Harvesting shellfish in an area closed due to contamination	January 6, 2009	$400	Julie Dionne
Alain Poitras	Forestville	Possession of soft shell clams under the legal size.	January 6, 2009	$400	Julie Dionne

 

By Alain Fréchet and Sylvi Racine

Since 2007, close to 240 cod in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence have been tagged with electronic sensors in an effort to learn more about their habitat. Under this new tagging program, readings of the temperature and depth of water in which the cod transited are taken at specific times and dates. The sensors, called archival tags, are implanted in the cod.  They can store some 34,000 readings per year, with a reading every 15 minutes. During the 2008 fishing season, seven tagged cod were recaptured, three of which had sensors.

The archival tag logs the depth and temperature of all waters through which the cod have experienced.  It is therefore possible to study the cod’s habitat, behaviour and certain biological characteristics. For example, during the spawning season, cod make extensive vertical migrations, covering roughly 100 metres a day. The data collected contributes to advancing the Department’s scientific knowledge, and could allow it to redefine the period or depths to be taken into consideration in determining the closing date of the fishery in the spring.

The use of archival tags will also make it possible to assess the existence of local cod stocks. For example, sensors implanted in cod from Bonne Bay, on the west coast of Newfoundland, will be used to verify whether they remain captive in this deep fjord, which has a 14-metre entrance sill.

The annual inshore migration of cod to coastal waters to feed on capelin and sand lance in June and July is another behaviour that can be studied.  Prior to migration, the cod spend the winter in relatively warm deep waters (5°C at depths of over 400 m) and then cross the cold intermediate layer, a layer of water below 0°C that is specific to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The data indicate the timing and duration of the migration through this cold layer.  According to the archival tags, cod spend approximately 1% of the year in the cold intermediate layer.
The depth data gathered will be used to identify the preferred habitat of cod. They will be compared with the depths of the sampling areas of the two annual surveys in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The fishing tows of the first survey, i.e., the July sentinel fisheries survey, begin at 10 fathoms (18.29 m). The second survey is conducted by the Department in August at a minimum depth of 20 fathoms (36.58 m).

Of the three tags recovered, two recorded data for the month of July and indicate that each cod spent less than 2% of that time in waters less than 18 metres deep. The only cod with an archival tag containing data for the month of August spent 34% of its time in waters less than 20 fathoms (36.58 m) deep.  This data is preliminary and was collected during the first complete fishing season.

The collection of additional data will contribute to the knowledge of the habitat, behaviour and certain biological characteristics of the species. The program’s target is to tag 340 cod in four years. The recapture objective is approximately 100 cod, since the recapture rate is typically similar to the harvesting rate.

This project was made possible through the participation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in partnership with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) Union, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Quebec Region), the Regroupement des Associations de pêcheurs de la Basse-Côte-Nord and Memorial University.

Did you know that…
The traditional spaghetti tag program (tags resembling strands of spaghetti) is useful for learning about migrations and mixing between stocks and for assessing fishery-induced mortality.  Each tag costs 63 cents. By comparison, an archival tag costs $300. Fishers obtain approximately $3 or $4 for the sale of a 60-cm cod weighing 2 kg, whereas they will receive $100 for the return an archival tag.

 

 By Nathalie Letendre

The onset of winter and the ice season marks the beginning of a very busy period for the Canadian Coast Guard. Indeed, it’s all hands on deck for the crews of our icebreakers and hovercraft. Their mission: to clear shipping lanes, escort ships through ice-covered waters, free ice-bound vessels, clear ice from harbours (on request and as needed), provide advice and information about ice, and help reduce the risk of ice-jams and flooding.
If vessels get caught in the ice, the Coast Guard will respond in this order of priority:

• Distress situations and emergencies.
• Ferry services provided under the Terms of Confederation. The Coast Guard will service other ferries according to priorities determined by the situation, the importance of the service to the community, and the cargo.
• 1. Vessels carrying dangerous goods or perishables, or representing a risk of polluting.
  2. Vessels transporting cargo which is vital to the survival of communities.
• Marine traffic and fishing vessels.

From December to April, the Canadian Coast Guard, Quebec Region, provides icebreaking services over a main corridor from the Cabot Strait and the Strait of Belle Isle in the east to Montreal in the west, including the Saguenay Fjord.

Using information supplied by the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Environment Canada’s Canadian Ice Service, the Coast Guard works to facilitate vessel traffic, ensure passenger safety and protect the environment.

To find out about the ice cover and fluctuations in the characteristics of the St. Lawrence River in winter, visit these sites:

• www.marinfo.gc.ca/en/Glaces/index.asp
• www.osl.gc.ca – and select Ocean Forecasts
• www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/Ice_Service_Standards

Did you know...
Icebreakers can weigh up to 6,000 tons, and their weight is just as important as the shape of their hull when breaking ice.

 

By Charley Cyr

Fisheries and Oceans Canada would like to remind you that the period for submitting a project for the Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP) will be extended until March 2, 2009 in view of the funding of projects beginning in April 2009.

The objective of the program, created by the Department, is to support projects proposed by our aquaculture industry partners (aquaculture producers and/or associations) by granting funds for collaborative research and joint funding. The minimum contribution that the industry is required to make is always 30%, including a minimum of 7.5% in money. The amount of the contribution that the industry is required to make is based on the ACRDP contribution.

To meet the selection criteria, projects must improve the competitiveness of the Quebec aquaculture industry and include the participation of an industry partner. You will find information on the program on the ACRDP Web site at www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/enviro/aquaculture/acrdp-pcrda/info-eng.html.

The ACRDP is a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) initiative aimed at increasing the level of collaborative research and development activity between the Canadian aquaculture industry and the Department and, in some instances, with other partners. The ACRDP is an industry-driven program that teams industry researchers with DFO researchers. Projects will be conducted in DFO research facilities or industry partner facilities.

 

The document entitled Canadian Coast Guard at a Glance presents the history, mandate and activities of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s special operating agency.

You will find it in the Publications section of the Canadian Coast Guard Web site at www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca.

 

By Alain Guitard

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has announced that it is putting the Proponent’s Guide to Information Requirements for Review Under the Fish Habitat Protection Provisions of the Fisheries Act on line. Designed for proponents who wish to carry out work or activities in aquatic environments and riparian areas, the guide describes the information required by the Department to review projects and ensure adequate protection of fish and their habitat. The information provided by proponents helps determine whether other measures are necessary to avoid or reduce potential negative effects on fish and fish habitats. It will also be used to determine whether an authorization under the Fisheries Act is required, as is the case when these effects are considered inevitable, but acceptable.

The requirements discussed in the guide are sufficient for most projects. For more ambitious or more complex work, Fisheries and Oceans Canada could require more information in order to determine whether an authorization is required under the Fisheries Act.

The guide is also aimed at promoting dialogue and invites the proponents to contact the Department at the onset when planning a project in an aquatic environment or riparian areas. The guide is available in the Working in or Around Water section of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Web site at: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans-habitat/habitat/water-eau/index_e.asp

Please note that municipal, provincial, territorial and federal legislation applicable to the proposed work must also be complied with.

 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is currently considering whether the harbour seal population of Lacs des Loups Marins (Ungava Peninsula) should be protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

This population, isolated for at least 3000 years from harbour seals that live in the sea, could number as few as 100 animals. It declined in the past because of hunting. Today, hydroelectric development in the area could be a threat to this population because it could cause considerable changes to its habitat.

When a species is protected by the Species at Risk Act, certain prohibitions can apply and management and recovery measures are implemented. You are invited to comment on whether the Lacs des Loups Marins harbour seals should be protected by SARA. For more information, or to provide comments, download the consultation workbook at www.sararegistry.gc.ca or contact the Species at Risk Coordination Office at 1-877-775-0848 or especesperilqc@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Please provide your comments by March 31, 2009.