Notice to fish harvesters: Lobster conservation harvesting plan - New management measures for 2019 and beyond (LFA 23, 24, 26A and 26B)

Moncton, NB – April 17, 2019 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Gulf Region, announces the opening of the fishery and new management measures that will be in place in the Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 23, 24, 26A and 26B in 2019. Unless indicated otherwise, existing management measures remain in place. Please refer to your Lobster licence conditions for further details.

A separate Notice will be issued at a later date for LFA 25.

Dockside monitoring will not take place in the lobster fishery in 2019. DFO will continue to explore options in discussions with industry for future implementation.

Opening Dates in 2019

The fishery in LFA 23 will open at 6:00 a.m. on April 30 until June 30. To avoid closing on a Sunday, the fishery in LFA 24, 26A and 26B South will open at 6:00 a.m. April 29 until June 29, with the exception of a portion of LFA 26A-1 from Point Prim to Victoria, PEI and LFA 26B North that will open at 6:00 a.m. May 6 and close July 6. The openings of the fishery on targeted opening dates are subject to ice and weather conditions.

Management measures for the protection of the North Atlantic Right Whales

Please refer to the separate notice on this subject. A map of the static fishing closure area, the dynamic management areas subject to temporary closures and the LFAs is provided in the attached Annex 1 for information purposes only. The coordinates of the static fishing closure area by sub-LFA is also included in Annex 1.

NEW management measures to be implemented for the 2019 and 2020 fishing season (previously announced in 2018 and 2019):

Increase in minimum legal size of Lobster carapace

• LFA26B South: 82.5 mm in 2019.
• LFA 26 A-1: 74 mm in 2020 (with adjustment to the height of the escape mechanism opening as indicated in Table 2 on page 2).

LFA 24 in 2019

• All female Lobster of a length 115 millimetres (mm) but not more than 129 mm must be returned to the water immediately in a manner that causes it the least harm.
• Mandatory use of two escape panels per parlour.

LFA 26B North in 2020

• Minimum escape mechanism opening of 46 mm in height by 127 mm in length.

LFA 23 in 2019

• Please note that fish harvesters in LFA 23 will not be required to fish with a minimum of three traps per line, except for those fishing in the portions of sub-areas 23C and 23D as defined in the licence conditions (as previous years). Further consultations will take place this year on this initiative.

Other Management Measures which will continue to apply in 2019:

Height and Length of Escape Mechanisms

The height of the escape mechanism as indicated in Table 1 needs to be adjusted according to the minimum legal carapace size in effect in each LFA (refer to Table 1 for minimum legal size).

Restrictions on the movement of Lobster licences

For information on restriction on the movement of Lobster Licences you can refer to the Commercial Fisheries Licensing Policy for Gulf Region .

Logbooks and Electronic Logbooks (ELOGS)

Licence holders that will not be using ELOGS are still required to use logbooks and submit them to DFO on a monthly basis as in previous years. The list of logbook suppliers.

A separate notice on ELOGS is issued for your information. However please note that if you choose to use an ELOG in 2019, in case of ELOG malfunction, you will be required to submit a paper logbook, but ONLY for the duration of the malfunction. Licence holders using ELOG should therefore have a few paper logbooks onboard the vessel.

Daily closed time

The daily close time from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in LFA 23 will remain in 2019.

Transit Corridors

The transit corridors remain in effect and a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) is required (every 5 minutes) if using the transit corridor. As previously announced in the Lobster LFA 23 Notice to Fish Harvesters, the transit corridor in 25 to Pointe Sapin was widened from 200 m to 300 m and the opening of the corridor situated at the boundary line of LFA 23/25 was expanded from 500 m to 1500 m. The corridor allows fish harvesters to transport their catches through that area to reach their homeport avoiding the use of the smack boat. For this reason, a validity period is added to LFA 23D licences from the date of issuance to July 5. The opening and closing of the season will remain as indicated in the Fisheries Regulations or as announced in a Variation Order. The coordinates for the corridor will also be included in the Variation Order.

Before you go fishing

The Department has assembled a list of requirements and documents harvesters will need before they start fishing.

ANNEX 1

The point references are based on the geodesic system North American Datum 1983 (NAD83). Positions are expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds.