Notices to Fish Harvesters

Gaspé – March 28, 2025

Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Quebec Region announces the opening of the Atlantic halibut fishery for the Gaspé fixed gear fleet less than 13.71 m from the Lobster fishers group in the 4RST divisions.

The fishery will be authorized from April 1, 2025 at 4:30 a.m.(EDT), to April 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

The authorized fishing gear is the longline. All hooks must have an opening of at least 15.4 mm. The number of hooks allowed is presented in Table 1 and is established according to the allocation held by the licence holder.

Table 1: Number of hooks authorized depending on the allocation held

• 0 to 749 kg: 900 hooks
• 750 and over: 1500 hooks

Temporary closure for Atlantic Halibut directed fishery

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

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

Reconciliation of quotas

The reconciliation of groundfish quotas applies to this fishery. Thus, any overrun of an individual quota incurred by a licence holder at the end of a management year will be deducted, on a one-for-one basis, from his individual quota in the following year(s). It is the responsibility of licence holders to monitor their Atlantic halibut quotas and to ensure that catches made in their fishing activities are in accordance with the quotas allocated to them.

Management measures for the Atlantic halibut fishery are detailed in the CHP for the 4RST Atlantic Halibut fishery by the Gaspé fixed gear fleet of less than 13.71 m for the Lobster fishers Group for the 2024-2025 season, approved on June 21, 2024.

Licence conditions

To obtain Conditions of Licence, fishers must access the National Licensing System online. For assistance with the National On-Line Licensing System, please contact Client Support by phone at 1-877-535-7307 or by e-mail 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 Quebec Region.

For more information, please call 1-877-898-5559

Julie Bernier

Resources Management

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence Are

Note: In case of discrepancies between the English and the French versions, the latter prevails.