Notices to Fish Harvesters
Conservation Harvesting Plan - GREENLAND HALIBUT 4RST FIXED GEAR FLEETS – QUEBEC REGION season 2025-2026 and 2026-2027
GREENLAND HALIBUT 4RST
FIXED GEAR FLEETS – QUEBEC REGION
season 2025-2026 and 2026-2027
Approved May 7, 2025
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Application
This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) for Greenland halibut applies to all fixed gear groundfish licence holders associated with vessels less than 19.81 meters from Québec Region fishing Greenland Halibut in NAFO Divisions 4RST from May 15, 2025 to May 14, 2027. It is to be noted that this CHP is subject to changes following ministerial decisions or annual review.
Separate harvest plans are required for the directed fishery for all other groundfish species.
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Fishing Areas
Divisions 4RST of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).
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 Fishing Area Maps.
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Fishing closures
3.1 Protection of fish during spawn and cod concentrations
The protection of fish during the spawning season and in areas of cod concentration is a priority for the Department and the industry in order to promote the rebuilding of cod stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The following conservation measures will apply:
- Closure of all groundfish fisheries from April 1st to June 23rd in part of the NAFO Division 4R offshore from St. George’s Bay and Port-au-Port Bay, which is recognized as a spawning area;
- Permanent and temporary closure of the Greenland Halibut fishery in NAFO divisions 4R and 4S respectively, in waters less than 200 meters (109,4 fathoms) deep;
- Permanent closure of the Greenland Halibut fishery in part of NAFO division 4T south of Cap Gaspé.
3.2 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.
3.3 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-Americains Marine Protected Area Regulations.
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Fishing Seasons
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.
- May 15 to October 31
- April 1 to May 14
The opening and closing dates of the fishery for each fleet will be confirmed through the usual means of communication including Notices to Fish Harvesters or Variation Orders.
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Management Regime
Competitive or Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) management regimes apply to the fleets identified in section 5.1. Administrative guidelines for ITQ programs for Greenland halibut are included in the regional directive, available on the DFO Quebec Region website at the following address: Regional guidelines for the management of individual transferable quota programs.
Exceptionally for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 management years, temporary transfers of up to 100% and interruption of the maximum limit a fisher can acquire by temporary transfer are authorized for the various ITQ programs. However, it is the licensee's responsibility to ensure that a sufficient allocation is maintained to cover Greenland halibut by-catches that are likely to occur in other directed groundfish fisheries.
5.1 Quotas
The allocation for Québec’s fixed gear fleets corresponds to 82% of the allocation of the fixed gear fleet less than 19.81 m of the Gulf of St Lawrence. On the basis of a TAC of 290 t, the six fleets from Québec share an overall allocation of 181,2 t. It should be noted that the temporary transfer from the mobile gear fleet under 19.81 m is suspended in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. Quebec’s overall allocation is distributed according to the established sharing formulas:
- 150.7 t for the Fleet under ITQ regime from Gaspé and Upper and Middle North Shore
- 2.7 t for the Fleet 13.71 m and greater under ITQ regime from the Gaspé (Others group)
- 17.7 t for the Fleet under ITQ regime from the Lower North Shore
- 0.9 t for the Fleet from the Lower North Shore non ITQ Program
- 7.7 t for the Fleet less than 13.71 m under competitive regime from the Gaspé
- 1.4 t for the Fleet under competitive regime from Upper and Middle North Shore
An allocation of approximately 3% could be deducted from each competitive quota in order to cover Greenland halibut by-catches during other groundfish species directed fisheries.
Note that fishery statistics for the current seasons will not be accounted for should a change in the competitive fishery management regimes occur.
5.2 Quota reconciliation
In accordance with quota reconciliation, any overrun of a quota in one year, on an ITQ regime or in a competitive fishery, is deducted on a one-to-one basis of the established quota for the season next.
Quota reconciliation will facilitate the management of all fisheries and promote the observance of harvest limits. Quota reconciliation will help achieve the conservation objectives for the resource, ensure that overruns by a fleet/harvester do not affect the others, and provide industry with an increased responsibility in meeting conservation objectives.
Implementing quota reconciliation, the Department authorizes quota transfers in order to allow individuals or fleets to cover quota overruns until a limit date after which the department will compare final fishing data. This date corresponds to the end of the groundfish management year, May 14. Furthermore, during the month following this date, the department will bring necessary adjustments to the quotas of the current year by considering competitive quota and ITQ overruns if the need arises.
In addition, within an individual transferable quota regime, it is the fish harvesters’ responsibility to respect the quantity granted (ITQ) while taking into consideration transfers and landings. The fish harvesters shall take the necessary arrangements to cover any quota overrun from previous fishing trips, if applicable, before departing for another fishing expedition and to have the necessary quota to cover the expected catches.
5.3 Carry forward of quotas
No carry-forward of residual quotas at the end of management year will be authorized in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.
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Minimum Catch Size
The minimum commercial size is 44 cm.
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Fishing Gear
The fishing gears that are authorized are gillnets or longline.
7.1 Number of Authorized Fishing Gear
Gillnets:
- Number of gillnets with a maximum length of 50 fathoms subject to item 7c :
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Longline:
Subject to fishery management considerations, the use of longlines could be authorized only when the Atlantic Halibut fishery is opened and only to fish harvesters who are directing their fishing activities simultaneously for Greenland Halibut and Atlantic Halibut.
Subject to item 7c, the use of longlines is authorized with a maximum of 8,000 circular hooks which must have an opening equal to 12.6 mm except for the Gaspé fish harvesters under a competitive regime holding at least one traditional crab, except area 12A, or lobster licence who are authorized to use a maximum of 4,000 hooks with an opening equal to 12.6 mm.
Latent fishing effort:
In order to limit the risks relative to latent fishing effort associated with groundfish licences under a competitive regime that were not exploited for several years, the number of gillnets authorized for the Greenland Halibut fishery will, on a permanent basis, be limited to 10 and the number of hooks to 500. This measure is applicable for groundfish licences that have not already had their gear numbers reduced due to latent fishing effort control and for which no landing of groundfish in directed fishery has been recorded over the last ten years.
7.2 Characteristics of Fishing Gear
- Minimum mesh size of 152 mm and maximum mesh size of 165 mm.
- Nets must be mounted to give a hanging ratio of 50%.
- Fish harversters under ITQ regime must only use gillnets configured with a maximum height of 20 meshes. This measure will progressively come into effect on the Lower North Shore, and all gillnets renewed from May 2016 must encounter this requirement.
7.3 Hauling and soaking time
The period of time between the setting and the lifting of a fishing gear must not exceed 72 hours.
7.4 Fishing Tags and Additional Identification of Buoys
Tagging of all gillnets used in Divisions 4RST is mandatory. All gillnets must carry a single, valid, permanent tag, even before they are loaded onto the boat for transport to the fishing site. It is prohibited to have untagged fishing gear on board a fishing vessel.
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.
7.5 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.
7.6 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 following coloured markings are required for each fleet:
- Groundfish ( gillnet) : Green-Brown
- Groundfish ( longline) : Green-Pink
The gear marking requirement consisting of interlacing different coloured twine sections within existing rope must be implemented as follows:
- The first colour to identify specific Region – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the second colour.
- The second colour to identify the fishing gear – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first 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.
For more information
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: Gear marking
7.7 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 Fishing Gear Reporting Systemor by completing the Lost fishing gear form available online atReporting 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 Fishing Gear Reporting System 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.
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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.).
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Marine Mammal Interaction Reporting
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 within 48 hours of the end of the fishing expedition. To do so, the licence holder and fishing vessel operator must complete the section reserved for this purpose in the electronic logbook or the marine mammal interaction form available at the following link: Marine mammal interactions form and attached to the Conditions of licence, and submit it according to the instructions indicated on the form.
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.
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Fishing Activities Declaration and Monitoring
License holders must keep a true record of their fishing activites and catches in their Combined Form or Electronic Logbook
10.1 Combined form / Logbook
The logbook portion of the Combined form must be completed daily.
A Combined Form must be acquired from a Pre-qualified Supplier identified by DFO whose list is available at the following address: Prequalified suppliersIt must be completed according to the instructions specified in the document and submitted to the dockside monitoring company or to DFO within 10 days of landing.
The logbook section of the Combined Form must be completed for each fishing day and before arriving to port.
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 – Groundfish. 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.
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
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 30 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.
10.4 Hail Prior to Departure
The licence holder/vessel operator must contact DFO’s hail out system by phone at 1- 833-699-2013 or 1-506-431-3223 (satellite) before 19:00 h the day before each fishing trip, except for licence holders/operators of the 13.71 m and over fleet under ITQ regime of the Gaspé who must contact the hail out system at least 12 hours prior departure for each fishing trip.
10.5 At-sea Observer
Industry funded at-sea observer program for this fleet will apply at a minimum coverage level of 5% of the fishing trips, except for the longliner fleet and the fleet 13.71 m and over under ITQ regime from the Gaspé (Others) for which the minimum coverage is 20% of fishing expeditions.
Before the beginning of a fishing expedition, the licence holder must have entered into an agreement with an at-sea observer company designated by DFO-Quebec Region.
The complete list of designated at-sea observer companies is available on MPO website: List of Qualified and Designated Compagnies.
10.6 Other catch or effort data declaration requirements
Daily Hail
Fish harvesters of the Gaspé less than 13.71 m fleet under competitive regime carrying out fishing trips longer than 30 hours must make a daily hail to declare daily catches during their fishing trip. These calls are not mandatory when an at-sea observer is on board the boat during the fishing trip.
10.7 Dockside Monitoring
Dockside monitoring program (DMP) at 100% of the landing is mandatory.
Before the beginning of a fishing expedition, the licence holder must have entered into an agreement with a company legally designated by DFO-Quebec Region for hail-ins and dockside monitoring. The complete list of designated companies can be found on DFO website: Monitoring programs.
Offloading must take place in one of the designated ports identified in the document entitled Designated dockside monitoring ports, available on the department’s website at the following address: Designated dockside monitoring ports.
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.
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Catch management
11.1 Bycatch Protocols
By-catch is defined as the weight of a by-catch species divided by the weight of the directed species, in this case, Greenland Halibut.
The by-catch limits* of groundfish while directing for Greenland Halibut in 4RST are as follows:
- Cod: 10% daily
- White hake: 5% daily
- Shark: the least of 10% daily or 500 kg
- Atlantic halibut: 3% daily
- Other species of groundfish: 10% daily
*: The by-catch limits for the Gaspé fixed gear fleet of 13.71 meters and over under ITQ (Longliners and Others groups) are specified in the CHP for this fleet.
If daily by-catch limits are exceeded, the fishery could be closed and legal action could be taken.
For licence holders that will obtain an ITQ allocation of any groundfish species in 2025-2026, by-catch of those species will be deducted from the fish harvester’s ITQ.
11.2 Small Fish Protocol
The minimum length of fish relative to the small fish protocol is:
- Cod: 43 cm
- American Plaice: 30 cm
- Witch Flounder: 30 cm
- White hake: 45 cm
- Winter Flounder/Yellowtail: 25 cm
- Atlantic halibut: 85 cm
- Greenland halibut: 44 cm
- Redfish: 22cm
Areas could be closed for specified fleet sectors when the number of undersized fish reaches or exceeds 15% of the catch of any of the above species.
All catches of Atlantic Halibut less than 85 centimeters must be returned to the water immediately and, when the fish is still alive, in a manner that causes it the least harm.
11.3 Catch monitoring and test fisheries
Fishery closures due to small fish and excessive by-catch will have a minimum duration of 10 days. The cost of conducting all test fisheries is the responsibility of the industry. If a fishery is closed, it will not re-open unless DFO feels that it can be effectively monitored and controlled. If any particular fishery was closed twice during the year because of excessive by-catch or small fish, the fishery could remain closed for the remainder of the year.
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Particularities Applicable to the Fishery
12.1 Characteristics and Use of Boats
No boat leasing or transactions will be permitted with commercial fishing license holders residing outside the Quebec region.
Unless for exceptional circumstances, no vessel leasing will be permitted between the different fishing fleets except between the fleet under ITQ regime of the Gaspé and the Upper and Middle North Shore and the fleet 13.71 m and greater under ITQ regime from the Gaspé (Others) during a same management year.
12.2 Partnership
Temporary licence buddy-up between two licence holders is authorized for Greenland halibut ITQ fishers in the same fleet.
The two licensees involved in the agreement must apply annually through the National On-Line Licensing System (NOLS). A form must be completed and signed by both licensees involved in the agreement. The first signature must be that of the owner/renter of the boat used. This form must be sent to DFO with the application, at least 5 working days before the start of fishing activities.
The partnership agreement is effective for the duration of the fishing season for the species in question. No partnership agreement can be signed if one of the participants has already begun fishing. Only one partnership agreement per licence holder is authorized for a fishing season.
Licence holders involved in a partnership agreement are authorized to use a maximum of 120 nets.
Licence holders involved must obtain licence conditions for partnership agreements from DFO. Licence Conditions issued for temporary twinning are valid from the opening date of the fishery. Both licence holders must be on board the vessel on all fishing trips. They will be held jointly responsible for any fishing violations arising from their agreement.
12.3 Conversion Rate
For landings in Québec, a 1,05 rate will be applied to convert the partially gutted weight into round weight. A 1.10 rate will be applied to convert the gutted weight into round weight for landings in Newfoundland.
12.4 Simultaneous fisheries
Simultaneous Greenland Halibut gillnet fishing and Atlantic Halibut longline fishing may be authorized under certain conditions, licence holders must refer to the Conditions of licence.
However, fish harvesters must hold valid Conditions of Licence for this simultaneous fishery.
12.5 Others particularities
The Department monitors the level of dumping and discarding of groundfish at sea. If a fleet sector or an individual is suspected of dumping and discarding groundfish at sea, the industry funded at-sea observer coverage could be increased in addition to other regulatory options, including fishery closures and legal proceedings.
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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, the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) and exceptionally the White Shark (Atlantic 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).
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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 New inshore regulations or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
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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 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
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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 case of a divergence between the French and English versions of the CHP, the French version prevails.
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: Fisheries- DFO Quebec Region