Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) – July 7, 2022 - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) today announces that fishing will be authorized for the 2022 Prince Edward Island (PEI) catch and release bluefin tuna season.
Season Dates
In 2022, the fishery will open on July 15, 2022 and end on October 31, 2022.
Management Measures
- The management measures remain unchanged from the 2021 season and are reflective of the National Guidelines for the bluefin tuna catch and release fishery.
- DFO would like to remind fishers of the requirement to fill out a log sheet after each fishing trip and to submit the log sheets weekly to the DFO Area Office as per the instructions on the licence conditions. This information is mandatory for our science reporting obligations to International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
- Fishers are also reminded to forward a copy of any recent Transport Canada certification (blue decal) renewals to Dana Kok at the DFO PEI Area Office (contact information below) as this is a requirement for licence issuance.
Dana Kok
Resource Management, Gulf Region
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Charlottetown, PEI
(902) 314-5535
Dana.Kok@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
NEW management measures in place for the 2022 fishing season
Mackerel Bait
Licence holders are permitted to catch and retain 20 live mackerel per fishing trip for bait purposes. This will be reflected in conditions of licence.
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 any time that may be harmful to fish or fish habitat.
New licence condition
The licence holder/operator is prohibited from discarding in Canadian fisheries waters from their vessel any item that may be harmful to fish or fish habitat including but not limited to plastics, ropes, fishing gear, garbage bags, fuel, oil, rags, glass, bottles, metal, extruded polystyrene foam (e.g. Styrofoam), and tires.
Refer to the Notice to Fish Harvesters sent on April 7, 2022 for further details: Commercial fishery requirements.
Required Training
Mandatory training on safe fish handling is required for fishers to take part in this fishery. During 2017, DFO undertook training for the existing Catch and Release fisher fleet. New fishers who have yet to do this training must register with DFO for the required training. DFO will coordinate and administer the training for these fishers. Licence conditions will only be issued once the training is complete.