2025 - Conservation Harvesting Plan for the herring fall fishery in Herring Fishing Areas 16A to 16G – Fleets using gillnets

Moncton (NB) and Quebec (QC) – August 11, 2025 - This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) presents the management measures for fleets using gillnets.

Licence holders must refer to their respective conditions of licence. Conditions of licence will be made available for participating harvesters in the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).

Management measures

A voluntary use of an electronic logbook (ELOG) for Gulf Region harvesters is authorized in 2025. Additional information is available on the following website: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS).

A summary of the management measures by herring fishing area (HFA) is presented in Annex 1 - 2025 management measures of the fall herring fishery for fleets using gillnets.

A diagram illustrating the mesh size measurement is presented in Annex 2 - Mesh size measurement.

Herring Fishing Areas 16C & 16E

Group A (New Brunswick fish harvesters) and Group B (Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia fish harvesters) will begin the fall fishery with an initial competitive allocation of 189 t. When the initial competitive quota is reached, the remaining allocation will be divided equally between Group A and Group B. Any excess quota caught from the initial allocation will be deducted from the total allocation remaining for both groups.

Fish harvesters from Herring Fishing Area (HFA) 16E who have received their conditions of licence to participate in the summer fishery will not have access to the fall fishery.

Herring Fishing Area 16G

The total allocation of 858 t is available to the entire HFA 16G. Eligible licence holders have access to both the northern and southern portions of HFA 16G.

Herring Fishing Area 17

Access to HFA 17 (northern portion of 4Vn) will be subject to guidelines under the Maritimes Region herring management plan.

Annex 1 - 2025 management measures of the fall herring fishery for fleets using gillnets

  • HFA 16A - Île Verte
    • Monitoring1:
      • CMP - 100%
      • DMP - Targeted rate of 100%
      • Elog and hail out
    • Allocation2: 10 t 
    • Period: July 1 - December 31
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 63.5 mm min.
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 150 fathoms
    • Closures4: None
    • Trip limit: One landing per day

 

  • HFA 16B - Chaleurs Bay
    • Monitoring1:
      • Gulf:
        • DMP - 100%
        • Logbook or Elog and hail out
      • QC:
        • CMP - 100%
        • DMP - Targeted rate of 100%
        • Elog and hail out
    • Allocation2: 2,984 t 
    • Period: August 17 - December 31
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min.
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 125 fathoms
    • Closures4: Friday 13:00 to Sunday 19:00 and weekdays 13:00 to 19:00
    • Trip limit: One landing per day, daily limit of 10,206 kg (22,500 lbs) or self-managed by industry

 

  • HFA 16B - Small seiners
    • Monitoring1:
      • Gulf:
        • DMP - 100%
        • Logbook or Elog and hail out
      • QC:
        • CMP - 100%
        • DMP - Targeted rate of 100%
        • Elog and hail out
    • Allocation2: 89 t 
    • Period: August 17 - December 31
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min.
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 125 fathoms
    • Closures4: Friday 13:00 to Sunday 19:00 and weekdays 13:00 to 19:00
    • Trip limit: One landing per day, daily limit of 10,206 kg (22,500 lbs) or self-managed by industry

 

  • 16 C&E - Escuminac, Western PEI and Northern GNS
    • Monitoring1:
      • DMP - 100%
      • Logbook or Elog and hail out 
    • Allocations2: 1,257 t, Competitive fishery (189 t), remaining tonnage equally divided to Groups A and B 
    • Period: August 31 - December 31
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min.
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 150 fathoms
    • Closures4: Friday 11:00 to Sunday 19:00 and weekdays 11:00 to 19:00 
    • Trip limit: Daily limit of 9,752 kg (21,500 lbs) or daily limit self-managed by industry (for Group A)

 

  • 16D - Magdalen Islands
    • Monitoring1:
      • CMP - 100%
      • DMP - Targeted rate of 100%
      • E-log and hail out 
    • Allocation2: 43 t
    • Period: July 1 - December 31
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min.
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 150 fathoms
    • Closures4: None
    • Trip limit: None

 

  • 16F - Pictou
    • Monitoring1:
      • DMP - 100%
      • Logbook or Elog and hail out
    • Allocation2: 1,291 t 
    • Period: September 14 – October 10
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min
      • Depth: 125 mesh
      • Length: 100 fathoms
    • Closures4: Friday 12:00 to Sunday 18:00 and weekdays 12:00 to 18:00
    • Trip limit: One landing per day, with daily limit self-managed by industry

 

  • 16G - Northside (see chart 1) and Southside 
    • Monitoring1:
      • DMP - 100%
      • Logbook or Elog and hail out
    • Allocations2: 858 t
    • Period: September 7 - October 10
    • Net3:
      • Mesh size: 66.7 mm min.
      • Depth: 100 mesh
      • Length: 150 fathoms
    • Closures4: 15:00 Friday to 15:00 Sunday
    • Trip limit: Daily limit of 6,804 kg (15,000 lbs) or daily limit self-managed by industry

Note:

1 - DMP - dockside monitoring program / CMP - catch monitoring program / E-log - electronic logbook.

2 - The allocations will be adjusted based on the summer fishery landings.

3 - Tagging of gillnets is required in all HFAs.

4 - Dates and times are based on Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT). No nets to remain in the water during the closures.

Annex 2 - Mesh size measurement

Mesh size measurement

Mesh size as applicable in the herring fishery is defined in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 as follow:

  • mesh size means, in respect of netting, the total length of the twine measured along two contiguous sides of a single mesh, including the distance across the knot joining those sides but not including any other knots,
  • see diagram below:

"Diagram showing how mesh size is measured in fishing netting, with the length measured along two contiguous sides of a single mesh and indicated as 66.7 mm."

Please note that the measurement is taken with the net pulled tight which would be harder to display in the diagram.

Chart 1

Northern part of HFA 16G

Map showing the northern portion of Her"Map showing the northern portion of Herring Fishing Area 16G in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The management area is outlined and shaded, with boundaries formed by rhumb lines connecting five specified coordinate points between eastern Prince Edward Island and western Cape Breton."

The Northern portion of HFA 16G defined as the waters enclosed by the coastline and rhumb lines (similar to straight lines drawn on a nautical chart) joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

  1. 46° 26' 00'' N - 63° 15' 00'' W
  2. 46° 50' 00'' N - 62° 32' 00'' W
  3. 46° 56' 42'' N - 61° 30' 00'' W
  4. 46° 26' 55'' N - 61° 30' 00'' W
  5. 46° 26' 55'' N - 61° 58' 25'' W (EAST POINT)

Note: When the geographic boundary of an area is expressed in latitude and longitude, these point references are based on the geodesic system North American Datum 1927 (NAD27). The positions are expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds.

 

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