Recreational Fisheries Notice

This Conservation Harvesting Plan (CHP) applies to all licence holders recreationally fishing unspecified sharks in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 4T). Please note that this fishing plan is subject to change following ministerial decisions or annual review.

For further information on fishing requirements and restrictions, licence holders must refer to their conditions of licence. The current management measures include, amongst others:

Fishing Area

NAFO Division 4T (See Appendix A for a map of the fishing area)

Fishing Season

September 1 to September 30 (from sunrise to sunset)

Fishing Quota

No retention (mandatory catch and release)

Fishing Gear

Only rods and reels are allowed on board a vessel during fishing activities. The fishing line strength rating must not exceed 200 pounds. Fishing lines with a higher strength rating must not be on board the vessel during fishing activities. The “strength” is defined as the maximal tensile load a fishing line will sustain before failure.

A maximum of four rods and four reels/spools with a maximum of one hook per line are allowed on board during fishing activities.

While fishing for shark, a full corrodible circle hook (maximum size of 16/0) or corrodible barbless J hook (maximum size 12/0) must be used. See Appendix B for a photo of the authorized hooks.

Fishing Restrictions

The use of fishing kites or fishing balloons is prohibited.

Except for the leader portion, the monofilament fishing lines must not exceed 1 millimeter of diameter.

The leader must not exceed 3.6 meters (12 feet) in length. Leaders may be a monofilament or cable and may exceed 1 millimeter in diameter.

Fishing Monitoring Document

It is a mandatory licence requirement to complete and submit the Recreational Shark Fishing Monitoring Document for each fishing trip.

The monitoring document is included with the recreational licence and is to be returned to Fisheries and Oceans Canada before or on October 31 of the current year.

If a licence holder fails to return a completed Recreational Shark Fishing Monitoring Document to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the issuance of a licence may be withheld the following year.

The Recreational Shark Fishing Monitoring Documents must be sent by email: DFO.GULFResourceManagement-GestiondesressourcesGOLFE.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, or mailed to the following address:

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Resource Management
P.O. Box 5030
Moncton, New Brunswick
E1C 9B6
Attention: Tashina Thomas 

By-catch of Tuna

If there are multiple cases where tunas are intercepted during the shark recreational fishery, this fishery may be closed for the remainder of the season.

Species at Risk Act (SARA)

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 derivative of a wildlife species listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened.

At the time this CHP is promulgated, the Atlantic species targeted by these measures are the following ones: Spotted Wolffish (threatened), Northern Wolffish (threatened), Leatherback Turtle (endangered) and White Shark (endangered). New species could be added to the SARA within the year.

The licence holder is required to ensure that, while the fishing activities are conducted, every person on board the vessel who incidentally catches any of the species listed above, immediately returns it to the place from which it was taken, and where it is alive, in the manner that causes it the least harm. 

Information related to species at risk shall be collected for each fishing trip and recorded in the SARA logbook. Logbooks must be returned no later than seven calendar days after the closure of the fishing season, even if there was no interaction with a species at risk, by email: DFO.GLFSARA-LEPGLF.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or by mail to the following address:

Fisheries and Oceans Canada 
Species at Risk Program
P.O. Box 5030
Moncton, New Brunswick
E1C 9B6

Fishing Licence

A recreational licence is required for this fishery. To obtain a licence, a request has to be made using the National Online Licensing System. If you require assistance, please call toll-free 1-855-634-2355 or send an email to DFO.GulfInfo-GolfeInfo.MPO@DFO-MPO.GC.CA.

 

Appendix A

Fishing area

Map illustrating the shark fishing area.

 

Appendix B

Anatomy of a circle hook

 Photo of a circle hook. One of the particularities of the circle hook is that the point of the hook is perpendicular to its shank.

Example of a J hook

Photo of a J hook of size 12/0.