Tracadie, New Brunswick (NB)– June 28, 2022 - Fisheries and Oceans Canada is announcing the fisheries management measures for the Eastern New Brunswick fixed-gear licence holders fishing Atlantic halibut in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 4T.
The opening for this fishery is scheduled to take place on July 6, 2022 from 5:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. the same day. This period may be modified due to inclement weather or other uncontrollable circumstances. If conditions do not allow for a July 6, 2022 opening, industry will be consulted before a new date is announced.
The maximum number of hooks per licence holder is 200.
The Atlantic halibut allocation for the Eastern New Brunswick fixed gear fleet will be 123.15 metric tonnes (t) for 2022. This consists of an initial allocation of 111.11 t, plus the 12.04 t uncaught allocation of 2021. Any overrun of the 2022 allocation will be taken on a one-to-one basis from the 2023 allocation of Atlantic halibut assigned to this fleet.
For the proper management of the offloading of catches, dockside monitoring will only be offered at the following landing ports:
- Pointe-Verte
- Petit-Rocher
- Stonehaven
- Anse-Bleue
- Caraquet
- Miscou
- Ste-Marie/St-Raphaël
- Petit-Shippagan
- Pigeon Hill
- Shippagan
- Le Goulet
- Val-Comeau
- Tabusintac
- Neguac
- Escuminac
- Pointe-Sapin
- Cap-Lumière
These designated landing ports will be included in the conditions of licence.
Licence conditions will be available shortly in the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).
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.
Pilot project in 4T5
The department will authorize, for a second consecutive year, an exploratory fishery in the groundfish fishing area 4T5 to collect catch information on July 6, 2022 form 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vessel monitoring system, electronic monitoring system (camera) and at sea observers will be used to monitor this activity. Fishers will be required to fish their gear based on a specific protocol. Participants interested in taking part in this pilot scale project will need to contact the Maritime Fisherman's Union (MFU) to discuss eligibility criteria and selection process.