Notices to Fish Harvesters

Quebec – May 7, 2025

Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Quebec region informs fish harvesters of Greenland Halibut fixed gear fleets of Quebec region of the management measures for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons.

The total allowable catch (TAC) for Greenland Halibut is established at 290 t for each of the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fishing seasons. The Québec’s fixed gear fleets allocation corresponds to 82% of the allocation of the fixed gear fleet less than 19.81 m of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The decision to suspend the temporary transfer of 50% of the allocation from the inshore mobile-gear fleet to the fixed-gear fleet is extended, given the by-catch requirements of the directed redfish fishery. Thus, on the basis of the 290 t TAC, the Quebec fleets share an overall allocation of 181.2 t, distributed in accordance with the established sharing formula :

• 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

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.

In accordance with the implementation of quota reconciliation, competitive quotas and ITQs will be adjusted, if applicable, in the next few weeks. Note that carry-forward of the 2024-2025 residual quotas will not be authorized in 2025-2026.

Fishery closure area

Starting with the 2025-2026 season, following a review of the depth limit, directed fishing for Greenland halibut is prohibited in NAFO Division 4RS waters less than 200 m (109.4 fathoms) deep, for all fixed-gear fleets less than 19.81 m in the Quebec region. This measure is in place to limit cod by-catch catches.

The directed Greenland halibut fishery is prohibited in NAFO Subdivisions 4Tp and 4Tq due to high levels of small fish.

Other management measures

For ITQ fleets, fishing activities in 2025-2026 will be authorized from May 15 to October 31, 2025, and from April 1 to May 14, 2026. For competitive fleets, the opening of fishing will be announced at a later date, following discussions with the fishermen's associations concerned.

Other management measures in the Greenland Halibut Conservation Harvesting Plan 4RST 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 remain unchanged, in line with discussions held at the last Greenland Halibut Regional Management Committee (GHRMC) in February 2025.

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.

For more information

You can obtain additional information concerning the management measures and the fishing areas on our website at Quebec Region.

Steve Trottier

Resources Management

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Quebec City, (Quebec)

Resources Management

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

North Shore Area

Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence Area: