Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PE) – June 22, 2022 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Gulf Region, wishes to advise the industry that the fishery for Toad/Spider Crab in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 24 and 26A will open on July 9, 2022 and will close on September 29, 2022.
NEW in 2022:
Discarding waste
In 2022, all commercial fisheries in Canada have a new condition of licence relating to the discharge of garbage from Canadian fishing vessels. The licence holder/operator is prohibited from discarding in Canadian fisheries waters from their vessel anything that may be harmful to fish or fish habitat. Refer to the Notice to Fish Harvesters sent on April 7, 2022 for further details: Commercial fishery requirements.
Fishing gear reporting system (or Lost Gear Reporting)
A new online system was launched in July 2021 to allow commercial harvesters to conveniently input lost and retrieved gear information from any smart electronic device. The system is able to capture information such as descriptions, cause of loss and location of the lost gear. Fish harvesters can create their account and begin reporting their data through the system at this website: Fishing Gear Reporting System.
Management measures in place for the 2022 fishing season:
Fishing Gear:
- Fishing gear is limited to conical or pyramidal crab traps whose volume does not exceed 2.1 m3 (exterior measure). The traps must have a maximum, unobstructed mesh size of 40mm. All traps must be equipped with a biodegradable escape mechanism with an unobstructed horizontal opening of at least 125 mm.
- Maximum trap number is 50.
Fishing Restrictions:
- Fishing effort is restricted to water depths between 20 fathoms and 40 fathoms.
- Only male crab measuring at least 60 mm in width may be retained.
Logbooks:
- Crab Fishing Logbooks are mandatory for all vessels. They must be completed daily before entering port and submitted to DFO as per instructions at the end of each season.
- Species At Risk Act Logbooks are mandatory for all vessels and must be submitted to the Department as per instructions at the end of each fishing season, including NIL reports.
Dockside Monitoring Program:
- Dockside Monitoring Program (DMP) will apply at 100%.
Observer Coverage:
- At-sea observer coverage is required at a minimum of 5%.