Notices to Fish Harvesters

 

 

SCALLOP – AREAS 17A1, 17A2, 18B1, 18B2 AND 18C

SEASONS 2026-2028

 

Approved March 27, 2026

1.  Application

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) for scallop applies to the fleet of scallop licence holders in Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence areas and sub-areas 17A1, 17A2, 18B1, 18B2 and 18C for seasons 2026, 2027 and 2028.

2.  Fishing Areas

The fishing areas and sub-areas coordinates are listed in the Conditions of licence and are also indicated on the fishing areas maps.

    2.1  Depth restrictions

Sub-areas 17A1, 17A2, 18B1 and 18B:

Fishing is prohibited at depths of less than 18.3 metres.

3.  Fishing closures

    3.1  Protected areas and closed sites

Scallop fishing is prohibited at all times in the following sectors:

• Protected areas: PA1A, PA1B, PA2, PA3, PA4, PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10 and PA11
• Closed sites : 1 to 6

The coordinates of the protected areas and closed sites are specified in the Conditions of licence.

    3.2  Forillon National Park

Under the Canada National Parks Act and the National Parks of Canada Fishing Regulations, no person shall fish scallop by any means, including dredging, within a limit of 152 m of the mean low tide mark of the shores of Forillon National Park.

    3.3  Coral and sponge Conservation Areas in the Estuary 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

    3.4  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

4.  Fishing Seasons

April 1 to September 30 annually.

The fishing seasons established above are 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. Closures may vary depending to particular circumstances and fisheries management considerations, including early closures, particularly when quotas have been reached or when there is a high probability that they will be exceeded.

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

Area 17 : 1 commercial licence (access to 17A1 and 17A2)

Area 18 : 2 commercial licences (access to 18B1, 18B2 and 18C)

                 1 communal commercial licence (access to 18B1, 18B2 and 18C)

6.  Management Regime

Competitive fishery

    6.1  Quotas

Sub-area 17A1: 10.9 tons (muscle).

Sub-area 17A2: 4 tons (muscle).

Sub-area 18B2: 16 tons (muscle).

Sub-area 18C: 11 tons (muscle).

    6.2  Quota reconciliation

Any overharvest of a quota in one area/sub-area in one season will be deducted from the quota for this area for the following season on a one-for-one basis.

7.  Catch management

    7.1  Characteristics of authorized catches

For all sub-areas except 18C:

• Sea Scallop: The minimum shell size is 100 mm or a maximum count of 30 muscles/500 g.

For all sub-areas :

• Iceland Scallop: no minimum size.

    7.2  Discarding Incidental Catches

Any fish caught incidentally must be returned to the water and released in the exact capture location and, if the fish is still alive, with as little harm as possible.

8.  Fishing Gear

    8.1  Characteristics of Fishing Gear

Fishing is authorized using one or more dredges. The total width of all dredge baskets combined must not exceed 7.32 meters (24 feet). The ventral side of the dredge must be equipped with a matrix consisting of unobstructed rings with a minimum diameter of 76 millimeter (3 inches).

    8.2 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  Hail out and hail out email

Sub-area 17A1 only:

The hail prior departure is mandatory and must be placed before 19:00 the day before each fishing trip.

For all sub-areas except 17A1:

Licence holders and fishing vessel operators must contact Fisheries and Oceans Canada by e-mail at DFO.QUEGaspe260.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca by 7:00 p.m. on the day prior to the departure of each trip.

    10.2  At-Sea Observer

Sub-area 17A1 only:

The at-sea observers coverage is 5 % of fishing trips made by the fleet, spread over the whole sub-area and the fishing period.

    10.3  Logbook

Licence holders and fishing vessel operators must keep a true record of their fishing activities and catches in their Combined form or in their Electronic logbook in accordance with their Conditions of licence.

      10.3.1  Combined form

Licence holders and fishing vessel operators should obtain their Combined Forms booklet from DFO prequalified suppliers, a list of which is available at: Prequalified Logbook Suppliers (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

The logbook section of the Combined Form must be duly completed before arrival at the dock. The licence holder and fishing vessel operator are required to send, without exception, their completed Combined Form to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada office in his sector within seven days after landing.

DFO reminds fishers that all catches, including catches for personal consumption or direct sales, must be listed in the logbook.

      10.3.2  Electronic logbook

The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is optional until further notice. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the Quebec region for the form ELOG – Logbook – Bivalve Mollusks, Squid and Whelk. 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: 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.

    10.4  Hail in

Before the beginning of a fishing trip, the licence holder and fishing vessel operator must have entered into an agreement with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the hail in. The licence holder and fishing vessel operator must contact this same company at least one hour prior to the expected time of arrival at port for a landing.

     10.5  Dockside Monitoring

Area 18C only:

Before starting a fishing trip, fishers must have an agreement with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by DFO.

Dockside monitoring is mandatory for 100% of landings.

Landings must be made at one of the designated dockside monitoring ports, a list of which is available at: Designated Dockside Monitoring Ports.

11.  Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

Vessels 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.

12.  Specific Provisions Applicable to the Fishery

     12.1  Characteristics and Use of Boats

Vessels with a length overall less than 19.81 meters (65 feet) may be used.

     12.2  Conversion Rate

The following conversion ratio is used in order to convert the weight of scallop catches to round meat weight: 8.3.

     12.3  Simultaneous fisheries

No simultaneous fishing is authorized.

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.

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

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.

15.  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.

16.  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).