Notices to Fish Harvesters

Approved June 22, 2026

1 Application

The present Conservation-based Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies for Scallop license holders of area 15 and to those having access to sub-areas 16H and 16I, North Shore area, Quebec region. The CHP is in effect for the 2026-2028 fishing seasons.

2 Fishing areas

Area 15:                    From Pointe Kegaska to Quebec-Labrador border

                                   Sector named “Field D” within the sub-area 16E

Sub-area 16H:         From Natashquan wharf to Rivière de l'Étang

Sub-area 16I:            From Rivière de l’Étang to Pointe KegaskaThe fishing areas coordinates are listed in the Conditions of licence and are also indicated on the fishing areas maps.

3 Fishing closures

3.1 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 Coral and sponge conservation areas of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.For more information and maps of the eleven coral and sponge conservation areas, please visit the Coral and sponge conservation measures in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence page of DFO’s website.

4 Fishing season

The fishery is authorized from May 22 to December 3.

The fishing seasons established in this section are in effect for the duration of this CHP. They represent the maximum duration of fishing periods, subject among other things to Variation orders and specific closure periods. Thus, openings and closures may vary depending on specific circumstances and fishery management considerations.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

5.1 Licences

Area 15:                        33 commercial scallop fishing licences

Sub-area 16H:             no licenceSub-area 16I:               no licence

5.2 Access sub-areas

Sub-area 16H:          Until further notice, holders of scallop fishing licences from the North Shore who wish to access sub-area 16H must apply through the national online licensing system. Each application will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether access to sub-area 16H will be granted.Sub-area 16I:            Accessible to area 15 license holders.

6 Management regime and allocations

   Area 15:     Fishery controlled by the number of licences.

Sub-areas 16H and 16I:     Fishery controlled by the number of access.

7 Catch management

7.1 Characteristics of authorized catches

There is no minimum size requirement.

7.2 Discarding Incidental Catches

Any fish caught accidentally must be released immediately at the spot where it was caught, in a manner that causes it as little harm as possible if it is still alive.

8 Fishing gear

8.1 Characteristics of fishing gear

Scallop dredge with a total width of all baskets not exceeding 7.32 meters (24 feet).

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 Lost Fishing Gear Form or the Retrieval of previously reported lost fishing gear form, wich are avaiblable 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 their 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 Reporting of fishing effort and catches

10.1.1 Combined form / Logbook

Licence holders must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a prequalified supplier identified by DFO.The Logbook section must be duly completed before arrival at port and the completed form must be sent to DFO after each fishing expedition.

10.1.2 Electronic logbook

The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is optional until further noticed. The client application used must be approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the ELOG form – Logbook – Sea urchins, sea cucumbers, scallops. 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 begins when a fishing vessel leaves a port to fish and ends when the fish caught is offloaded. Hence, when a fish harvester 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 their Elog key, fish harvesters must visit the electronic logbooks (ELOGs) page of Fisheries and Ocean’s website.To request a modification to data that has been transmitted to Fisheries and Oceans, please communicate with the client support service at 1-877-535-7307.

10.2 Hail-in and Dockside Monitoring

Dockside monitoring is mandatory for sub-area 16H.

When licence holders fish in one of the sub-areas covered in this CHP, prior to the beginning of a fishing expedition, they must have signed an agreement relative to hail-in with a dockside monitoring company legally designated by DFO.Licence holders must contact this same company at least thirty (30) minutes before the scheduled time of arrival at dockside for a landing.

11 Specific provisions applicable to the fishery

11.1 Use of boats

The lease of a boat whose owner’s primary residence is outside the Quebec region is prohibited.

11.2 Conversion rate

The following conversion factor is used to convert the weight of scallop catches (muscle weight) to round weight: 8.3.

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) and the Beluga Whale (St. Lawrence Estuary 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 9 - 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 vessel on every fishing expedition in accordance with their 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, please refer to the March 17th, 2021 Notice to fish harvesters, New inshore regulations effective April 1, 2021, 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, licence holders must log in to the National Online Licensing System (NOLS) and submit a request. For assistance with NOLS, 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 any discrepancy between the French and English versions of the CHP, the French version prevails.

 

Approved by:

Sylvain Vézina

Regional General Director

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Quebec

 

For any question regarding this CHP (lorsqu’applicable)

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.