Approved March 11, 2024
1. Application
This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to holders of Northern shrimp fishing licences in Shrimp Fishing Areas 8, 9, 10 and 12, who are members of the Group A (Traditional and New Access), Group B (Traditional, First Nations and New Access), Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia fleets.
2. Fishing areas
- Area 8 : Esquiman
- Area 9 : Anticosti
- Area 10 : Sept-Îles
- Area 12 : Estuary
Fishing areas coordinates are detailed in the licence conditions and on the map of fishing areas available at the following link: Fishing Areas for Shrimp.
3. Fishing closures
3.1 Coral and Sponge Conservation Areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence
On December 15, 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) created eleven coral and sponge conservation areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in order to protect areas with high concentrations of sponges and sea pens.
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 conservation areas.
For more information and maps of the eleven coral and sponge conservation areas, please visit the dedicated DFO website: Coral and Sponge Conservation Measures in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
3.2 Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area
On March 6, 2019, DFO created, jointly with the Quebec government, the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area (MPA) in order to the ensure the conservation and protection of this marine ecosystem.
Provisions of the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations apply to licence holders. In order to comply with them, please refer to the clauses that apply to your fishing activities: Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations.
4. Fishing seasons
The fishing season will start on April 1st, 2024 and will close on December 31, 2024. The opening date remains subject to be modified for safety reasons and upon the recommendation of the representatives of the concerned fleets, at least 72 hours before the planned opening hour.
Also, it should be reminded that during the period in which fishing is authorized, it is the captain’s responsibility to acquaint the marine safety notices, among others by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Transport Canada, as well as the standards and the best practices in marine safety, and to take all measures to ensure safe fishing.
5. Quotas
The 2024 Total Allowable Catches (TAC) per Shrimp Fishing Area (SFA) are:
- Estuary (12): 473 tons
- Sept-Îles (10): 342 tons
- Anticosti (9): 488 tons
- Esquiman (8): 1,757 tons
- Total: 3,060 tons
a) Allocation of TAC in Esquiman area for Group A fish harvesters (Newfoundland and Labardor and Quebec):
- 1,143.8 tons are allocated to Newfoundland and Labrador shrimpers under individual quotas. Quebec traditional fish harvesters are granted 130.1 tons and 12.8 tons are allocated to Lower North Shore fish harvesters.
b) Allocation of TAC (Estuary, Sept-Îles, Anticosti and Esquiman) for Group B fish harvesters (Quebec and New Brunswick):
- 1,712.2 tons are allocated to Group B shrimp harvesters with an Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) and First Nations before the calculation of Group B sharing.
- An exceptional approach to calculating Group B sharing will be used in 2024. This approach consists of a reduction of the fixed quotas (2) that is proportional to the reduction in TACs in each of the zones. The other Group B sharing and ITQ calculation methods remain unchanged.
c) Allocation of TAC (Sept-Îles, Anticosti and Esquiman) for Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia:
- 30.6 tons by province is allocated to fish harvesters of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
6. Management regime
Individual quota (IQ) and Individual transferable quotas (ITQ) regimes.
Please refer to the Notices to Fishers and Administrative guidelines of the ITQ program for the Group B Gulf shrimp fleet for information on current ITQs management procedures.
For Quebec licence holders, the suspension of shrimp ITQs permanent transfers from inshore fish harvesters (licence less than 19.81 m) to mid-shore fish harvesters (licence of 19.81 m to 30.48 m) is maintained in 2024.
7. Fishing gear
The authorized fishing gear is the trawl net. The use of the Nordmore grate is mandatory throughout the shrimp fishing season. The use of double liners over the Nordmore grate is prohibited.
8. Management measures to minimize the risks of interactions with the North Atlantic Right Whale
The following requirements have been implemented in order to reduce the risk of entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales:
8.1 Requirement to report lost and retrieved gear
Lost gear reporting
Lost fishing gear is defined as any active fishing gear previously set by the licence holder and fishing vessel operator which was sought but not found.
The licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report any of their lost fishing gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) through the FISHING GEAR REPORTING SYSTEM available online at Fishing Gear Reporting System or by completing the LOST FISHING GEAR FORM available online at Reporting requirements for commercial fisheries or in Annex of Conditions of licence, according to instructions on the form.
If the licence holder or fishing vessel operator is using an Electronic logbook, lost fishing gear must be reported to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook.
Retrieved gear reporting
The licence holder or fishing vessel operator must report the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) through the FISHING GEAR REPORTING SYSTEM available online at Fishing Gear Reporting System or by completing the RETRIEVAL OF PREVIOUSLY REPORTED LOST FISHING GEAR FORM available online at Reporting requirements for commercial fisheries or in Annex of Conditions of licence, according to instructions on the form. Retrieval can only occur during the validity period of the Conditions of licence and only in relation to the specific type of gear authorized to be used by the Conditions of licence.
If the licence holder or fishing vessel operator is using an Electronic logbook, the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear must be reported within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook.
8.2 What to do if you observe a North Atlantic right whale
First of all, it is important to maintain a minimum distance of 100 meters from the animal and 200 meters if the whale is accompanied by a calve. Details regarding sightings of live and free-swimming right whales may be provided to DFO at: XMARWhalesightings@dfompo.gc.ca or by phone at 1-844-800-8568. If you observe this species, please send us your contact information and information about the sighting (date, time, geographical position, number of individuals, etc.). If possible, you can also send us photos or videos.
If you see a right whale entangled in fishing gear, you should not under any circumstances attempt to release it on your own. The behaviour of an entangled individual is unpredictable and dangerous. You should contact "Marine Mammal Emergencies" at 1-877-722-5346 as soon as possible to share information that will help to organize an appropriate response by experts (time and position of the entangled animal, behavior of the individual, details on the weather and the state of the sea, etc.).
9. Marine mammal interaction reporting
In order to comply with the implementation of the US Marine Mammals Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, licence holders must provide information regarding all interactions with a marine mammal that occur during fishing expeditions including: bycatch, collisions and all sightings of entangled marine mammals. To do this, the Marine Mammal Interaction Form must be completed and submitted by email to DFO.NAT.InteractionsMM-InteractionsMM.NAT.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca within 48 hours after the end of a fishing trip.
A copy of the form is attached to the Conditions of licence and can also be downloaded and submitted online at the following address: Report a marine mammal or sea turtle incident or sighting.
The information provided on this form will be used by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to estimate levels of accidental mortality and injury to marine mammals. This information will allow DFO to better assess the types of threats that may affect Canada's marine mammals and to develop mitigation strategies.
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. Hail prior to departure
A hail prior to departure is mandatory for fleets in Quebec and Gulf Region.
Fish harvesters of theses regions are required to call the following new phone number: 1-833-699-2013 (toll free) or 1-506-431-3223 (satellite phone only) to make their new, modified or cancelled hail out.
11. At-sea observers
The at-sea observers’ coverage rate of fishing expeditions will be of at least 5% funded by the industry.
12. Dockside monitoring
A hail-in call is required before the arrival at port. Dockside monitoring is mandatory for 100% of landings. Offloading must take place in one of the designated dockside monitoring ports.
When using an Electronic Logbook, you must communicate your unique Electronic Logbook Identifier to the Dockside Monitoring Company before hail in and also provide it to the dockside observer.
13. Catch and effort data declaration
13.1 Combined form (Logbook)
Fishermen must acquire their booklet of Combined Forms from a prequalified supplier, identified by DFO, whose list is available at the following address: Prequalified.
The Logbook section must be completed before arrival at port and the completed form must be sent to DFO after each fishing trip.
13.2 Electronic logbook
The use of an electronic logbook (Elog) is optional in 2024. Fish harvesters must use a client application approved by DFO for use in their respective region. 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 means a voyage that commences at the time a fishing vessel leaves a port to engage in fishing and terminates at the time fish caught during that period are 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 you Elog key, visit Fisheries and Ocean’s web page at the following address: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS).
To request a modification to data that has been transmitted to Fisheries and Oceans, you must communicate with the client support service at 1-877-535-7307.
14. Vessel monitoring system
The use of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) approved by DFO is mandatory. Each licence holder/fishing vessel operator must register his DFO-approved VMS unit prior to the beginning of his fishing activities. Data transmission every 30 minutes is required.
The current list of DFO-approved VMS units and the procedure and form to register a VMS unit are available at the following address: National Vessel Monitoring Service.
15. Release of the fish caught accidentally
Groundfish caught accidentally can be returned to the water. However, the following species must be immediately put back to the water and released in the exact capture location and, if the fish is still alive, in a manner that causes it the least harm: Atlantic Halibut less the 85 cm, Northern Wolffish, Spotted Wolffish, and Leatherback Turtle.
16. Protocol for bycatch
A protocol for monitoring the bycatch is implemented for the small groundfish (cod, redfish and Greenland halibut).
17. Mechanical bycatch separator
The use of mechanical devices to separate bycatch from the catch of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) on board vessels is permitted. The following conditions apply:
- When a mechanized bycatch separator is used, the authorized automatic deduction of landings in the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence to account for white shrimp and small bycatch is 1.5% instead of 2%.
- Fishing trips with an at-sea observer for licence holders using a mechanized bycatch separator will be included in the regular at-sea observer coverage required in the CHP.
- Licence holders that have the intention of using mechanized bycatch separator have to request for specific licence conditions via the National Online Licensing System.
18. Processing-at-sea of shrimp
The management measures in place since 2017 for the shrimp processing-at-sea project in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence fishery are renewed in 2024. Daily catch reports, 50% observer at-sea coverage and 100% dockside monitoring by shrimp size category are required.
19. Partnership
Buddy-up agreement is exceptionally authorized in 2024 between several Group B licence holders from the same province (Quebec or New Brunswick), provided that all licence holders are on board the vessel used for all fishing operations. To take advantage of a partnership agreement, licence holders must place their request via the National online licencing system before the beginning of the fishing season.
20. Vessel
The obligation to register the boat on behalf of the licence holder for at least one (1) month is not in effect for Quebec licence holders in 2024.
21. Quota reconciliation
DFO has been applying quota reconciliation for the northern shrimp fishery in Areas 8, 9, 10 and 12. Thus, any individual quota overrun incurred by a licence holder in a season will be deducted from his individual quota for the following season on a one-to-one ratio.
Fish harvesters are responsible for monitoring their quotas to ensure that catches from their fishing activities fall within their allocations.
Fish harvesters from the Quebec region will be informed whether or not reconciliation has been applied to their individual quotas through an information note attached to their Conditions of licence. In the Gulf Region, the Schedule – Quota Table document is sent to licence holders prior to the beginning of the fishery and will reflect any overrun incurred during the previous fishing season.
22. Species at Risk Act
Pursuant to the Species at Risk Act (SARA), 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.
At the time this Conservation Harvesting Plan is promulgated, the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence species susceptible to being captured are the following: the Spotted Wolffish, the Northern Wolffish, the Leatherback Turtle, the Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) and exceptionally the White Shark (Atlantic population). New species could be added during the course of the year.
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), the Beluga Whale (St. Lawrence Estuary population) and the White Shark (Atlantic 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 Marine mammal interaction reporting).
23. Crew registry
Since April 1st, 2021, all inshore commercial licence holders, and their approved substitute operators, must keep records of all the crew members working aboard the vessel on every fishing trip. These records must be maintained by the licence holder for a period of five (5) years. This requirement does not apply to pre-1979 corporation licence and to any licence issued under the authority of the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations. For further details, refer to the March 17th, 2021 Notice to Fish Harvesters or contact the Licensing Office at 1-877-535-7307 or fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Approved by:
Maryse Lemire
Fisheries Management Regional Director
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Quebec
For additional information
Please visit our website at the following address: Fisheries.