Amended, March 26, 2025

Amended, March 28, 2025 

Amended, March 26, 2025

Approved March 20, 2025

1. Application

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies fleets that are licensed to fish for snow crab in areas 12A, 12C, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 17.

2. Fishing Areas

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 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

3.2  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

Other Area Closures

That portion of the Saguenay River situated upstream of a straight line connecting the following points:

 

 1.       48°07'24" N   69°43'00’’ W (Pointe Noire)

 2.       48°08'06" N   69°42'06" W (Pointe Rouge)

4. Fishing Seasons

Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence area

• Area 12A : 10 weeks

North Shore area

• Area 12C : 14 weeks
• Area 14 : 14 weeks
• Area 15 : 14 weeks
• Area 16 : 14 weeks
• Area 16A : 14 weeks

Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence and North Shore areas

• Area 17 : 13 weeks

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 or Variation Orders.

A monitoring committee is in place to oversee weather conditions. The opening date will be confirmed by a Variation Order following the final recommendation of the opening committee and an agreement on the opening date. Forecasts of air temperatures below 0 ºC for the first week of fishing and / or ice cover may delay the opening.

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.

No season extensions will be granted except for circumstances beyond the control of the industry or DFO.

5. Management Regime

All fleets in areas 12A, 12C, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 17 are under an individual transferable quota programs (ITQ).

Administrative guidelines of the ITQ program of the snow crab of area 12A, 12C (groups A and B), 14, 15 (groups A and B), 16 (groups A and B), 16A and 17 (groups A and B) fleets 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

5.1  Allocations and acces

• Area 12A : 44 tons (100%)
• Area 12C : 142.04 tons (100%)
  • Group A : 97.58 tons (68.7%)
  • Group B : 44.46 tons (31.3%)
• Area 14 : 318.98 tons (100%)
• Area 15 : 478.4 tons (100%)
  • Group A : 433.9 tons (90.7%)
  • Group B : 44.5 tons (9.3%)
• Area 16 : 2914.11 tons (100%) 
  • Group A : 2701.38 tons (92.7%)
  • Group B and C : 212.73 tons (7.3%)
• Area 16A : 279.9 tons (100%)

• Area 17 : 1334,86 tons (100%)
  • Group A : 1174,68 tons (88%)
  • Group B : 160,18 tons (12%)

Under quota reconciliation, any overrun of individual quota incurred by a licence holder in one season will be deducted, by a factor of one to one, from the individual quota established for the following season. It is the responsibility of license holders to monitor their quotas to ensure that catches made in the course of their fishing activities respect the quotas allocated to them. Fishermen will be notified of the reconciliation of their individual quota by means of a note of information attached to their Conditions of licence.

6. Minimum Catch Size

Carapace width: 95 millimetres

7. Fishing Gear

7.1 Number of Authorized Fishing Gear

A standard trap (maximum 2.1 m3) can be replaced by two conical traps with a circular base with a maximum diameter of 1.22 m.

If applicable, additional traps may be allocated following the approval of temporary or permanent transfers, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Administrative Directives.

• Area 12A : 75 standard traps or 150 Japanese traps

• Area 12C :
  • Group A : 100 standard traps or 200 Japanese traps
  • Group B : 50 standard traps or 100 Japanese traps

• Area 14 : 85 standard traps or 170 Japanese traps

• Area 15 :
  • Group A : 85 standard traps or 170 Japanese traps
  • Group B : 50 standard traps or 100 Japanese traps

• Area 16 :
  • Group A : 100 standard traps or 200 Japanese traps
  • Group B et C : 35 standard traps or 70 Japanese traps. A maximum of 50 standard traps or 100 Japanese traps may be used by licence holders who will benefit from temporary transfers totalling more than 8,000 kg.

• Area 16A : 85 standard traps or 170 Japanese traps

For licence holders who hold an individual quota equivalent to twice the initial quota, the number of traps will be increased by 25%. The authorized number of traps will be increased to 106 standard traps or 213 Japanese traps.

• Area 17 :
  • Group A : 85 standard traps or 170 Japanese traps
  • Group B : 50 standard traps or 100 Japanese traps

7.2 Fishing Tags and Additional Identification of Buoys

All traps used for fishing must have a single valid annual tag with a unique identification number. Fishers must obtain their tags from DFO approved suppliers. A list of these suppliers is available at the following address: Approved Tag Suppliers (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

It is prohibited to have untagged fishing gear on board a fishing vessel. In 2025, the original tags are brown and the replacement tags are purple.

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.

7.3 Amount of Rope Floating on the Surface of the Water

The following 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 shall float on the surface of the water at any time.

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 or other floating device attached to a primary buoy.

7.4 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 minimum requirements regarding the number and position of colour markings are detailed in the Conditions of licence. Please refer to the Notice to Fish Harvesters of August 14, 2020 available at the following link: colour-notice-avis-couleur-fra.pdf

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

1. The first colour to identify specific Region – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the second colour.
2. The second colour to identify target Species – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first colour.
3. The third colour to mark different fishing areas must be interlaced. The third colour must be interlaced immediately before or after the segment of rope containing the first two colours. The third colour must not be interlaced within the same segment containing the first and second 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.

7.5 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.

Lost fishing gear must be reported 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.

If the licence holder and fishing vessel operator are using an Electronic logbook, lost fishing gear must be reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) 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) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook. The licence holder and fishing vessel operator can also use the reporting methods indicated in the previous paragraph.

Retrieved gear reporting

The licence holder and 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.

If the licence holder and fishing vessel operator are using an Electronic logbook , the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear must be reported 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) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook. The licence holder and fishing vessel operator can also use the reporting methods indicated in the previous paragraph.

7.6 Escape Mechanisms or Selectivity Device

all traps used for fishing must be equipped with a biodegradable escape mechanism, as described in the Conditions of Licence.

7.7 Hauling and soaking duration

It is the fishermen's responsibility to lift their fishing gear at least every 72 hours.

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

10.1 Electronic logbook

The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is mandatory. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the Quebec region for the form ELOG – Logbook – Crabs. 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 your Elog key, visit Fisheries and Ocean’s web page at the following address: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/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.

10.2 Vessel Monitoring System

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

10.3 Hail out

The hail out call is mandatory and must be made before 7 p.m. the day before each fishing expedition.

10.4 At-sea Observer

At-sea observer coverage, at industry expense, is described in terms of the percentage of fishing expeditions in the following table for each fishing area.

Area 12A : 10% of coverage

Area 12C : 10% of coverage

Area 14 : 5% of coverage

Area 15 : 10% of coverage

Area 16 : 10% of coverage

Area 16A : 10% of coverage

Area 17 : 10% of coverage

The percentage of coverage must be distributed throughout the season, throughout the area and may be modified according to unexpected conservation needs that may arise during the fishing season.

10.5 Hail in

Areas 12A, 15, 16 et 17 : A call for entry is required at least 30 minutes prior to arrival at the dock.

Areas 12C, 14 et 16A : A call for entry is required upon arrival at the dock.

The list of accredited and designated companies is available on the DFO website: Commercial fishery requirements - Regional List of Qualified and Designated Companies

10.6 Dockside Monitoring

Dockside verification is mandatory for 100% of landings.

Landings must be made at one of the designated dockside monitoring harbors, the list of which is available at the following address: Maps of small craft harbours

When using an Electronic Logbook, you must communicate your unique Electronic Logbook Identifier to the Dockside Monitoring Company before hail in and also provide it to the dockside observer.

11. Catch Management

11.1 Release of white crab and adolescent crab

Release of white crab and adolescent crab (small claws) is allowed. They must be returned to the water, at the place of their capture and, if they are still alive, so as to hurt them as little as possible.

11.2 Follow-up protocol for white crab

Depending on the information gathered during the fishing season, DFO may ask fishermen to avoid a sector in order to reduce the risk of catching white crabs.

To help with monitoring, fishermen are invited to confidentially share their observations of an increase in the proportion of white crab in their catches via the following e-mail address: crabeblanc@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or whitecrab@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

The following fishing closure protocols will apply in 2025:

Area 12A: Fishery closure as soon as an average percentage of 20% of white crab in catches at sea for a period of 14 consecutive days.

Areas 12C, 14, 15, 16 and 16A: A closure of the area will occur upon reaching 20% of white crab in at-sea catches, if applicable.

Area 17: Closure of the fishery as soon as 20% white crab is reached in the catch at sea for a period of 14 consecutive days before May 1st and a period of 7 consecutive days after May 1st.

12. Particularities Applicable to the Fishery

12.1 Characteristics and Use of Boats

The Maximum Length (ML) of vessels that fishers may use is specified by fishing area and group :

Area 12A : ML of 15,24 meters

No vessel rental will be allowed with commercial licence holders living outside the Gaspe Peninsula area.

Areas 12C, 14,15 et 16A : ML of 19,81 meters

Leasing of boats from outside the North Shore area will not be allowed.

Area 16 :

• Group A : ML of 19,81 meters
• Group B et C : ML of 15,24 meters

Snow crab licence holders of area 16 group A are not allowed to lease a boat owned by a licence holder of area 16 groups B or C and vice versa.

Area 17 : ML of 19,81 meters

12.2 Partnership

General information for all areas

To take advantage of a partnership agreement, licence holders must place their request through the National Online Licencing System (NOLS) at least 5 business days before the first fishing trip. A form signed by all license holders in the agreement must be sent with the application, and the first signature must be that of the owner/renter of the boat used.

Only one partnership agreement per licence holder is authorized for the fishing season. The partnership agreement is effective for the entire duration of the fishing season of the target species. Unless there are exceptional reasons, DFO will not issue replacement authorizations to fishermen involved in a partnership agreement.

No temporary transfers will be processed during the term of the partnership agreement. Any transfer of quota with other license holders must be completed and approved prior to departure from the dock or after termination of the agreement.

License holders must be on board for all fishing expeditions of the target species.

Landings are accounted for in proportion to the individual quotas of license holders who are part of a partnership agreement.

Licence holders benefiting from a partnership agreement will be jointly responsible for any violation committed during fishing activities resulting from their agreement, if applicable.

Area 12A :

A temporary buddy-up of two licence holders is authorized. The maximum number of traps authorized will be equal to the sum of the number of traps initially authorized to each of the two licence holders under the valid Harvesting Plan and the Administrative Guidelines. A temporary buddy-up may be renewed annually, and both licence holders may not avail themselves of this opportunity for more than five years (consecutive or not).

Areas 12C, 14, 15 and 16A :

A temporary buddy-up is authorized between licence holders of the same group and for no more than five licence holders per agreement.

Licence holders involved in a partnership agreement are authorized to use a maximum number of traps equal to the sum of the number of traps initially authorized for two of the parties involved in the partnership agreement, without exceeding 200 standard traps.

Area 16 :

A temporary buddy-up of two licence holders is authorized.

Licence holders involved in a partnership agreement are authorized to use a maximum number of traps equal to the sum of the number of traps initially authorized by the two parties involved in the partnership agreement, without exceeding 200 standard traps for Group A or 70 standard traps for Group B.

The partnership will be re-evaluated on an annual basis.

Area 17 :

Group A : Partnership between two Group A license holders is authorized in 2025. The maximum number of traps authorized will be equal to the sum of the number of traps initially authorized to each of the two licence holders. Partnership will be re-evaluated on an annual basis.

Group B : Partnership between two Group B license holders is authorized. The maximum number of combined traps of the two license holders is 75. For the season 2025, partnership between three Group B licence holders is authorized. The maximum number of combined traps of the three license holders is 100.

12.3 Simultaneous fisheries

On a single fishing trip or on different fishing expeditions, the license holder and fishing vessel operator who hold both valid License Conditions for Greenland halibut or ITQ Atlantic halibut and valid Snow Crab License Conditions may practice both fisheries simultaneously if the Greenland halibut or Atlantic halibut is conducted in the following Subareas:

Areas 12A : 4S1, 4S4, 4T3a or 4T4.

Areas 12C, 14, 15 and 16A : Not applicable.

Area 16 : 4S1, 4S2 or 4T4.

Area 17 : 4S1 or 4T4.

13. 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).

14. 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 New inshore regulation (2021-03-17) or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

15. 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 NEW CONDITION OF LICENCE RELATING TO DISCHARGE OF GARBAGE (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

16. 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 :

 

North Shore area : 1-800-463-1729

Gaspé-Lower St. Lawrence area: 1-877-898-5559

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address: Quebec Region | Fisheries and Oceans Canada (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)