Notices to Fish Harvesters

Figure 1:    Map and coordinates of Miscou bank and the portion of it open to the Atlantic halibut fishery

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:

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/ceccsr-cerceef/egsl-eng.html.

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:

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-50/page-1.html.

3.4      Temporary closure for Atlantic halibut directed fishery

Licence holders are advised of the continued temporary closure of part of the NAFO 4T division, considering the excessive bycatch of cod previously observed. This area will remain closed until further notice, and is bounded by straight lines joining the following points in the listed order:

1.             49°02’00" N   64°10’00" W

2.             48°31’00" N   62°37’00" W

3.             48°23’00" N   63°08’00" W

4.             48°46’00" N   64°10’00" W

5.             49°02’00" N   64°10’00" W

4        Fishing seasons

The fishing seasons established in this section represent the maximum duration of fishing periods. Opening dates may vary according to particular circumstances or fishery management considerations, 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. The exact fishing periods will be confirmed through Notices to fish harvesters or Variation orders.

Following discussions with representatives of the fishermen’s associations concerned, the fishing effort is deployed in two periods:

•   A “Summer fishery” authorized from August 17, 2021 at 05 h (EDT) to September 17, 2021 at 23 h 59 (EDT); and
•   A ”Spring fishery” authorized from April 14, 2022 at 05 h (EDT) to May 14, 2022 at 23 h 59 (EDT).

Each licence holder of the fleet is authorized to take part to both fishing periods.

Also, it should be reminded that during the period where fishing is authorized, it is the responsibility of the captain to acquaint himself with the marine safety notices published among others 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.

5        Number of licences and access

The Upper and Middle Norh Shore fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m fishing Atlantic Halibut in NAFO divisions 4RST is made up of 69 goundfish licences.

6        Quotas

The allocation of Atlantic halibut from divisions 4RST granted to the North Shore fixed gear fleet comes in part from the basic quota granted to the Gulf fleets of less than 19.81 m with fixed gear and in part from the allocation transferred temporarily from the mobile gear fleet to the fixed gear fleet, under the established sharing formulas.

On April 15, 2016, under the coordination of the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), representatives of fixed gear groundfish licence holders associations have come to a sharing agreement for the global Atlantic halibut quota granted to Québec’s three geographic fleets. This agreement was recognized by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. It confirms an adjustment to the shares of Quebec’s geographic fleets on the basis of the global quota of 502.18 t granted to these three geographic fleets and their relative shares from the 2015-2016 Quebec allocation.

The first 502.18 t are distributed as follows:

- Québec North Shore = 92.54 t (18.4277%);

- Gaspésie = 336.16 t (66.9401%);

- Magdalen Islands = 73.48 t (14.6322%).

Any additional allocation granted to Quebec fleets with fixed gear will be shared according to the same percentages.

For the 2021-2022 season, the total quota allocated to the three Quebec geographic fleets corresponds to 820.515 t. The sharing of this quota then corresponds to:

- North Shore = 92.54 t + (318.335 t x 18.4277% = 58.662 t) = 151.202 t;

- Gaspésie = 336.16 t + (318.335 t x 66.9401% = 213.094 t) = 549.254 t;

- Magdalen Islands = 73.48 t + (318.335 t x 14.6322% = 46.579 t) = 120.059 t.

In accordance with the permanent quota sharing agreement of the North Shore fixed gear fleet, the 2021-2022 initial allocation of the North Shore (151.202 t) is attributed at 54% to the Upper and Middle North Shore (UMNS) fleet, and at 46% to the Lower North Shore (LNS) fleet.

Thus, the allocation granted to the UMNS fleet in 2021-2022 is of 81.649 t. Exceptionally in 2021-2022, a quantity of 2.450 t, corresponding to 3% of the initial allocation of the fleet, is set aside to allow adjustments if some individual quotas have been underestimated.

In 2021-2022, the carry-over of residual quantities of Atlantic halibut that were not caught the previous season is authorized, up to a maximum corresponding to 15% of the initial 2020-2021 allocation. Since more than 15% of the initial 2020-2021 allocation has not been caught, a residual quantity of 10.591 t of Atlantic halibut (corresponding to 15% of the 2020-2021 allocation) is carried over to 2021-2022.

Considering the reserve of 2.450 t and the carryover of 10.591 t, the 2021-2022 net allocation of Atlantic halibut granted to the UMNS fleet is therefore 89.790 t.

7        Management regime

As o the 2021-2022 season, an Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) Program is established for the management of the allocation of Atlantic halibut 4RST for the UMNS fixed gear fleet of less than 19.81 m, following a consultation with all license holders of the fleet and in accordance with the request made by the fishermen groups of the fleet. This ITQ regime replaces the competitive regime with individual maximum catch limits (IMCL) that prevailed in previous seasons.

The management of the ITQ regime is carried out in accordance with the terms of the Regional Guideline for the management of ITQ programs, which was submitted during the consultation of all fishermen in the fleet. Sections of the Regional Guideline annex and register have been developed specifically for this ITQ program. The Regional Guideline is available on the DFO - Quebec region website at the following address:https://inter-l01-uat.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/infoceans/en/regional-guidelines-management-individual-transferable-quota-programs

The Regional Guideline will be updated shortly to include the 4RST Atlantic Halibut ITQ Program for the UMNS fixed ear fleet of less than 19.81 m.

8        Fishing gear

The authorized fishing gear is the longline, all hooks of which must have an opening equal to or greater than 15.4 mm.

The authorized number of hooks varies depending on the allocation held by the license holder, including the quantities transferred or received by transfer. Table 1 shows the authorized numbers of hooks according to the allocations held.

Table 1 :      Number of hooks authorized depending on the allocation held (including transfers)

On any fishing expedition, licence holders must carry documents attesting for the quantities of Atlantic halibut they have transferred or received by transfer.

It is the responsibility of the licence holders to ensure that their fishing gear immersion time never exceeds 72 hours.

It is prohibited to have more fishing gear on board the fishing vessel than the maximum authorized based on the allocation held.

9        Management measures to minimize the risks of interactions with the North Atlantic Right Whale

Since 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has put in place additional management measures to protect marine mammal including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale from entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. These measures take into account the best available scientific data and can be adapted if necessary to take into account future developments regarding interactions prevention.

The following requirements have been implemented in order to reduce the risk of entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales:

9.1      Amount of rope floating on the surface of the water

Since 2018, 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 meters (3.5 fathoms) of rope shall be used when attaching a secondary buoy to a primary buoy.
•   At the exception of the rope attaching secondary buoys, no rope attaching a longline to a primary buoy shall remain floating on the surface of the water.

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.

9.2      Gear marking

As of 2020, licence holders using fixed gear must mark the rope used to attach a fishing gear to a primary buoy with a colour 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. In the case of the groundfish fishery using longlines for fleets of Quebec Region, the following colours are mandatory: green and 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 target Species – to be interlaced on the same segment of rope as the first colour.

The coloured twine markings mentioned in this section 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.

The minimum requirements regarding the number and position of colour markings are detailed in the Conditions of licence.

For more information:        All the information on gear marking measures has been published in the January 31th, 2020 Notice to Fish Harvesters, available at the following link for each fishery:

https://inter-l01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/applications/opti-opei/notice-avis-eng.php?region_id=4&sub_type_id=5&type=1&display_option=1

9.3      Additional identification of buoys

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.

9.4      Requirement to report lost and retrieved gear

Lost gear reporting:

The licence holder/operator must report any of their lost fishing gear 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 Lost Fishing Gear form available online at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/commercial-commerciale/reporting-declaration-eng.html.

Retrieved gear reporting:

The licence holder/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)  by completing and submitting the Retrieval of Previously Reported Lost Fishing Gear form available online at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/commercial-commerciale/index-eng.html.

Retrieval can only occur during the validity period of these Conditions of licence and only in relation to the specific type of gear authorized to be used by the licence.

9.5      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, behavior of the individual, details on the weather and the state of the sea, etc.).

10    Marine mammal interaction reporting

In order to comply with the implementation of the US Marine Mammals Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, 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. To do this, the Marine Mammal Interaction Form must be completed and submitted by email to DFO.NAT.InteractionsMM-InteractionsMM.NAT.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca within 48 hours after the end of a fishing trip.

A copy of the form is attached to the Conditions of licence and can also be downloaded and submitted online at the following address:  http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/mammals-mammiferes/report-rapport/page01-eng.html.

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.

11    Hail prior to departure

Hail out is mandatory for all participants.

Licence holders must call the DFO hail out system by phone at 1-800-561-2467 or 1‑902‑464‑8103 (satellite) by 19 h the day before each fishing expedition.

12    At-sea observers

Industry-funded at-sea observers program applies to a minimum coverage of 10% of fishing expeditions.

Before the start of a fishing expedition, licence holders must have come to an agreement regarding at-sea observers coverage with a company legally designated by DFO-Quebec Region.

13    Dockside monitoring

The industry-funded Dockside Monitoring Program (DMP) is mandatory for 100% of landings.

Before the beginning of a fishing expedition, licence holders must have come to an agreement with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by DFO, a list of which is available at the following address:

https://inter-l01-uat.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/infoceans/en/monitoring-programs#quai

Landings must be done at a designated port which appears on the list published on DFO’s website at the following address:

https://inter-l01-uat.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/infoceans/en/designated-dockside-monitoring-ports

Also, further information about designated ports is available at the following address:

https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sch-ppb/maps-cartes-eng.html

14    Catch and effort data declaration

14.1   Combined form / Logbook

Licence holders must acquire their booklet of Combined form from a prequalified supplier identified by DFO, a list of which is available at the following address:

https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/sdc-cps/nir-nei/log-suppliers-eng.html

The Logbook section must be duly completed before arrival at port on each fishing day.

14.2   Electronic logbook

At the time of publishing this CHP, no electronic logbook application is available for the Atlantic Halibut fishery. Therefore, license holders must obtain their Combined Forms booklet as specified in section14.1Combined form / Logbook.

15    Vessel monitoring system

No vessel monitoring system (VMS) requirements are in place for the 2021-2022 fishing season.

However, as of the 2022-2023 fishing season, the use of a VMS approved by DFO will be mandatory.

The list of approved units, as well as the procedure and form to register a VMS unit with DFO are available at the following address:

https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/sdc-cps/vessel-monitoring-surveillance-navire/index-eng.html

16    Incidental catches

Bycatch is defined as the round weight (entire fish) of a bycatch species divided by the round weight (entire fish) of the directed species, in this case, Atlantic halibut.

While directing for 4RST Atlantic halibut, the authorized percentages of groundfish bycatch are:

•  Cod:                                 The greater of 30% or 45 kg per fishing trip.
•  Greenland halibut:            3% per fishing trip.
•  White hake:                      5% per fishing trip.
•  Shark:                    The lesser of 10% or 500 kg per fishing trip. The licence holder must hold the Conditions of licence authorizing shark bycatch.
•  Other groundfish species: 10% per fishing trip.

If bycatch limits per fishing trip are exceeded, the fishery may be closed and legal proceedings may be initiated.

17    Small fish protocol

The minimum size of fish under the small fish protocol is:

Ø  Cod                                  43 cm

Ø  American plaice                30 cm

Ø  Witch flounder                  30 cm

Ø  White hake                       45 cm

Ø  Winter flounder                 25 cm

Ø  Yellowtail flounder             25 cm

Ø  Atlantic halibut                  85 cm

Ø  Greenland halibut             44 cm

Ø  Redfish                             22 cm

Possession of Atlantic halibut less than 85 cm is prohibited. All specimens of Atlantic halibut less than 85 cm must be returned to the water immediately and, if the fish is still alive, handled in a manner that causes it the least harm.

Areas may be closed to fishing for the fleet or parts of the fleet when the number of undersized fish reaches 15% of the catch of any of the above-mentioned species.

18    Simultaneous fisherires

The simultaneous fishing of Atlantic halibut and whelk, rock crab or snow crab is authorized, in separate fishing expeditions.

19    Catch monitoring and test fishery

Small fish and bycatch closures due to high catch levels are for a minimum duration of 10 days. The cost of conducting all test fisheries is borne by the industry. If a fishery is closed, it will remain closed until DFO determines that it can be effectively monitored and controlled. If any particular fishery is closed twice during the same year because of high levels of bycatch or small fish, it may remain closed for the remainder of the year.

20    Boat

Except under exceptional circumstances, vessel lease outside of the North Shore and use of a vessel over 15.20 m are not authorized.

21    Conversion rate

In the Atlantic halibut fishery, a conversion rate of 1.14 is used to convert the weight of eviscerated catches to round fish weight.

22    Quota reconciliation

Groundfish quota reconciliation applies to the current fishing season. As such, any overrun incurred by a licence holder during a fishery management year will be deducted by a one-to-one factor from his ITQ of the following year or years.

In addition, as announced in the 2020-2021 CHP, any excess of IMCL incurred by a license holder at the end of the 2020-2021 management year will be deducted, in a one-to-one factor, from his individual transferable quota. from 2021-2022, and subsequent year (s) if applicable.

It is the license holders’ responsibility to monitor their quota in order to ensure that the catches made during their fishing activities respect the quota allocated to them. License holders are notified of the reconciliation of their individual quota by means of an information note attached to their Conditions of licence.

23    Groundfish discards monitoring

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 may be increased, in addition to other regulatory options, including fisheries closures and legal proceedings.

24    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).

25    Crew registry

As of 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 https://inter-l01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/applications/opti-opei/notice-avis-detail-eng.php?pub_id=2150&todo=view&type=2 or contact the Licensing Office at 1‑877‑535‑7307 or fishingpeche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

26    Conditions of licence

To obtain their Conditions of licence, licence holders must log on to the National Online Licensing System (NOLS) and place a request. Valid Conditions of licence will be available through the NOLS following payment of the licence and at the latest 48 hours before the opening of the fishery.

For NOLS assistance, please contact customer support by phone at 1-877-535-7307, or by email at: fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.  

Approved by:

Maryse Lemire

Fisheries Management Regional Director

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Quebec 

For any question regarding this CHP

You may call at 1-800-463-1729 

For additional information

Please visit our website at the following address:

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/index-eng.htm.