Notices to Fish Harvesters

Conservation Harvesting Plan

 

Lobster – AREA 19, 20 and 21

SEASON 2026 - 2028

 

Approved April 10,  2026

1.  Application

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to the Lobster licence holder’s fleet of the area 19, 20 and 21.

2.  Fishing Areas

The fishing areas coordinates are listed in the Conditions of licence. The fishing areas maps are available at the following address : fishing areas maps.

3.  Fishing closures

     3.1  Coral and sponge Conservation Areas in the Estuaruy and Gulf of St. Lawrence

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

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

    3.3  Other Area Closures

Sectors SF-1 (part of 19A-1B), SF-2 (part of 19A-1F), SF-3 (part of 19A-1G), and SF-4 (part of 19A-1H) are closed to lobster fishing. The geographic coordinates for these sectors are listed in the Conditions of licence.

4.  Fishing Seasons

The fishing season usually runs from the end of April to the mid-July.

• Area 19 : 71 days
• Area 20A, 20B and 21 : 69 days

The fishing season established above is in effect for the duration of this PPAC. It represents the maximum fishing period, subject to, among other things, specific orders and closed seasons. Accordingly, opening dates may vary depending on specific circumstances and fisheries management considerations, including industry requests, while closures may be brought forward, particularly for conservation reasons.

Opening and closing fishing dates will be confirmed through Notices to Fish Harvesters or Variation Orders.

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.  Number of licences and access

As of the date of approval of this CHP, the number of licences was:

• Area 19 :

             - Commercial licences : 8.

             - Exploratory licences : 43.

• Area 20 : 132 commercial licences.
• Area 21 : 13 commercial licences.

6.  Management Regime

Competitive fishery managed by controlling fishing effort.

7.  Catch management

    7.1  Characteristics of authorized catches

The minimum size allowed for keeping catches is 83 mm. The maximum size is 145 mm.

It is forbidden to be in possession of any female lobster measuring 110 mm or more that is marked with a “V” (V-notch) or with mutilation on each uropod situated on each side of the telson.

 

The voluntary marking of a spawned female with a “V”-shaped notch (V-notch) must be performed with an appropriate tool on each uropod located immediately on each side of the telson.

    7.2  Discarding Incidental Catches

All fish, exept male common crabs, caught incidentally while fishing under a lobster fishing licence must returned to the the water at the exact location where they were caught, and if the fish are alive, in a manner that causes them the least harm.

8.  Fishing Gear

    8.1  Number of Authorized Fishing Gear

Licence holders are authorized to use the number of traps specified on their Licence. With some exceptions, the number of traps provided is as indicated for each area :

• Area 19 :

               - Commercial licences : 250 traps.

               - Exploratory licences : 100 or 250 traps.

• Area 20 :

                - Commercial licences : 235 to 335 traps.

• Area 21 :

                - Commercial licences : 235 to 250 traps.

    8.2  Characteristics of Fishing Gear

The requirements and prohibitions regarding, in particular, dimensions, escape mechanisms, devices against seals, trap lines, and ropes are presented in the Conditions of licence.

For area 19, the maximum allowed trap dimensions are 92 cm (length), 61 cm (width), and 50 cm (height).

For area 20 and 21, the maximum allowed dimensions for traps are 92 cm (length), 54 cm (width), and 39 cm (height) for wire traps, and 92 cm (length), 61 cm (width), and 46 cm (height) for wooden traps (or hybrid wood/other materials).

    8.3  Hauling and soaking duration

It is prohibited to lift traps on the opening day and to lift traps, for the purpose of baiting or taking lobsters, more than once a day.

Licence holders or their operators are responsible for hauling in their fishing gear at least once every 72 hours.

    8.4  Gear marking

All traps used for fishing must bear a single valid annual tag with a unique identification number. Fishermen must obtain their tags from suppliers approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

The minimum requirements regarding the number and position of colour markings are details in the Conditions of licence. Please refer to the Notice to Fish Harversters of August 14, 2020.  

It is prohibited to have unmarked fishing gear on board a fishing vessel. In addition to the regulatory requirement to mark buoys with the vessel registration number (VRN), licences must add a sequential number to each main buoy in order to be able to individually identify each fishing gear.

Certain specific requirements may apply to exploratory or scientific fishing and are outlined in the Licence Conditions.

    8.5 Requirement to Report Lost and Retrieved Gear

The licence holder and fishing vessel operator must report any loss or recovery of fishing gear. Reports regarding the loss or recovery of gear must be submitted to DFO through the online Fishing Gear Reporting System or by completing and submitting the Loss Fishing Gear Form or the Retrieval of previously reported lost fishing gear form, which are available online and attached to the Conditions of licence.

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 in accordance with the Conditions of licence. To do so, 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 on the Report a marine mammal or sea turtle incident or sighting page and attached to the Conditions of licence, and it must be submitted as per the instructions provided on the form.

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  LogBook

Licence holder must keep a true record of their fishing activities and catches in their in their Electronic logbook (Elog) in accordance with their Conditions of licence.

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 – Lobster. 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” prior to landing. 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: 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.

    10.2  Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

Only vessels used for exploratory fishing in Area 19 must be equipped with an active vessel monitoring system (VMS) approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each licence holder must register his DFO-approved VSM unit prior to the beginning of his fishing activities. Data transmission every 5 minutes is required.

The current list of DFO-approved VMS units and the procedure and form to register a VMS unit are available at National Vessel Monitoring System page.

11.  Specific Provisions Applicable to the Fishery

    11.1  Characteristics and Use of Boats

Maximal length of the boats

The length overall (LOA) of the boats that licence holders or their operators may use is less than 15.24 meters.

Auxiliary boat

The use of an auxiliary boat is permitted under certain conditions. It must first be registered with DFO and must be identified on the Conditions of licence. Only one boat is allowed to take part in a fishing trip. Landings must be associated to the vessel number of the main boat.

    11.2  Buddy-up

For commercial fishermen, buddy-up agreements are permitted between two licence holders whose licences are issued in the same subzone and who hold a maximum of 235 traps. The maximum number of traps authorized under the buddy-up arrangement will be equal to the sum of the number of traps held by each licence holder, up to a maximum of 435 traps. The buddy-up arrangement may be renewed annually for a maximum of five years, consecutive or otherwise.

For exploratory fishermen, buddy-up agreements are permitted between two licence holders whose licences were issued in the same subzone. The maximum number of traps allowed under a buddy-up arrangement is equal to the sum of the number of traps held by each licence holder, or 200 traps.

To take advantage of a pairing agreement, the owner/lessee of the vessel used must submit a request through the National Online Licensing System (NOLS) at least 5 business days before the first fishing trip. A form signed by all licence holders under the agreement must be submitted with the application, and the first signature must be that of the owner/lessee of the vessel used. Only one buddy-up agreement per licence holder is permitted for the fishing season. The buddy-up agreement is effective for the entire duration of the fishing season for the targeted species. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, DFO will not issue any replacement authorizations to fishers involved in a buddy-up agreement.

Licence holders must be on board during all fishing trips.

Landings are accounted for in proportion to the individual quotas of licence holders who are part of a buddy-up agreement.

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

    11.3  Participation Modalities (Exploratory fishing)

Exploratory licence holders must demonstrate that they have fully participated in developing the fishery by complying with the predetermined minimum annual participation criteria before being eligible for licence reissuance, if applicable.

The minimum annual participation criteria are specified in the Conditions of licence and may include, but are not limited to: a minimum number of fishing trips involving trap hauls, compliance with an at-sea sampling protocol, and the format and deadline for data submission.

Participation criteria are reviewed annually and may be modified upon licence renewal the following year. Specific requirements, such as conducting a post-season survey, may apply.

    11.4  Simultaneous fisheries

Licence holders/vessels operators  who also hold a commercial fishing licence for whelk and/or rock crab and/or spider crab (Hyas sp.) and/or sea urchin (caught in traps) in their licence portfolio are not permitted to fish for these species during the entire lobster fishing season.

For exploratory licence holder’s, this prohibition does not apply if the licence holder’s lobster fishing area does not overlap with the area where they hold a commercial licence for these species and if the VMS is active.

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.

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

All independent core licence holder and their approved substitute designated operators must keep records of all the crew members working aboard the bessel on every fishing trip in accordance with its Conditions of licence. This requirement does not apply to pre-1979 corporation licence holders, midshore licence holders nor to any holder of a 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 regulations or contact the Customer support at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

14.  Discharge of waste

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 : New condition of licence relating to discharge of garbage.

15.  Conditions of licence

To obtain their Conditions of licence, fish harvester 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 Fisheries web page (dfo-mpo.gc.ca).