2024 Snow Crab fishery, Newfoundland and Labrador
Snow Crab fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador (Areas 2HJ, 3KLNO, 3Ps, and 4R3Pn)
Fishing season
The following table contains three columns. The first column lists each NAFO Division. The second column lists the Crab Fishing Area. The third column lists the 2024 season dates.
| NAFO Division | Crab management area | 2024 Season dates |
|---|---|---|
| 2HJ | 2H, 2J North | TBD |
| 2J south | All fleets | TBD |
| 3K | 3A, 4 | April 14 – July 15 |
| 3B, 3C, 3BC | April 21 – June 30 | |
| 3D | April 14 – June 30 | |
| 3LNO | 8Bx south | April 6 – July 15 |
| Most Fleets | April 6 – July 31 | |
| 3Ps | All fleets | April 6 – July 7 |
| 4R3Pn | All Fleets | April 6 – June 30 |
Season dates listed in the table above reflect the dates when harvesters will be allowed to set their gear.
Total allowable catch
The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Newfoundland and Labrador Region in 2024 is 57,586 tonnes, an overall quota level increase of 5.2% from 2023.
The following table contains two columns. The first column lists the area. The second column lists the quota in tonnes. The last row identifies the total allowable catch.
| Area | Quota (t)* |
|---|---|
| 2HJ | 1,047 |
| 3K | 9,998 |
| 3LNO | 36,403 |
| 3Ps | 8,936 |
| 4R3Pn | 736 |
| CPS Trap Survey | 450 |
| Total | 57,568 |
The following table contains five columns. The first column lists the Crab Management Area. The second column lists the area description. The third column lists the inshore quota(s). The fourth column lists the fulltime - large supplementary quotas. The fifth column lists the communal quota.
| Area | Description | Inshore | Fulltime and supplementary | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2H | North of 56° 00’ N | - | - | 100 |
| 2J north | North of 54° 40’ N to 56° 00’ N | - | - | 130 |
| 2J south | South of 54° 40’ N | 163 | 654 | - |
The 2HJ TAC is 1,047 tonnes.
The following table contains four columns. The first column lists the Crab Management Area. The second column lists the area description. The third column lists the inshore quota(s). The fourth column lists the fulltime - large supplementary quotas.
| Area | Description | Inshore | Fulltime and supplementary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3A | Canada Bay | 384 | - |
| 3B | White Bay | 390 | - |
| 3C | Green Bay | 559 | - |
| 3BC | Inshore 3K | 236 | - |
| 3D | Fogo/Twillingate | 1,333 | - |
| 4 | Offshore | 31 | 7,064 |
The 3K TAC is 9,998 tonnes.
The following table contains six columns. The first column lists the Crab Management Area. The second column lists the area description. The third column lists the inshore quota(s). The fourth column lists the small supplementary or commercial quotas. The fifth column lists the fulltime - large supplementary quotas. The sixth column lists the greater than 65 foot quotas.
| Area | Description | Inshore | Small Supplementary | Fulltime & Supplementary | > 65' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5A | Bonavista Bay | 1,261 | - | - | - |
| 6A | Trinity Bay | 1,307 | - | - | - |
| 6B | Conception Bay | 1,200 | - | - | - |
| 6C | Eastern Avalon (inside 25) | 1,330 | - | - | - |
| 8A | Southern Shore (inside 25) | 1,216 | - | - | - |
| 9A | St. Mary’s Bay | 638 | - | - | - |
| 8B | Southern Avalon (offshore) | - | 863 | - | - |
| 8Bx | Southern Avalon | - | 121 | - | - |
| 8Bx North | Northern portion of Southern Avalon | - | 782 | - | - |
| 8Bx South | Southern portion of Southern Avalon | - | 932 | - | - |
| NS | Nearshore | - | 6,125 | - | - |
| MS | Midshore | - | 5,017 | 2,082 | - |
| MS/EX | Mid-shore extended | - | - | 5,793 | - |
| 3L EX | Between 170 and 200 miles | - | - | 3,910 | - |
| 3L 200 | 3L Outside 200 miles | - | - | 1,947 | - |
| 3N 200 | 3N Outside 200 miles | - | - | 1,302 | - |
| 3NO 200 | 3NO Outside 200 miles | - | - | - | 575 |
The 3LNO TAC is 36,403 tonnes.
The following table contains four columns. The first column lists the Crab Management Area. The second column lists the area description. The third column lists the inshore quota(s). The fourth column lists the small supplementary quota(s).
| Area | Description | Inshore | Small supplementary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10A | Placentia Bay north of 46°30’N | 3,870 | - |
| 10B | Placentia Bay south of 46°30’N | - | 4,167 |
| 11S | CFA 11 south of 46°30’N | 304 | 334 |
| 11E | CFA 11 east of Western Head | 228 | - |
| 11W | CFA 11 west of Western Head | 33 | - |
The 3Ps TAC is 8,936 tonnes.
The following table contains four columns. The first column lists the Crab Management Area. The second column lists the area description. The third column lists the inshore quota(s). The fourth column lists the commercial quotas.
| Area | Description | Inshore | Commercial |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Outside of 8 mile - Group 1 | - | 12 |
| 12 | Outside of 8 mile - Group 2 | - | 87 |
| 12 | Outside of 8 mile - Group 3 | - | 21 |
| 12 | Bay of Islands | - | 65 |
| 12 | Bay St. George | - | 41 |
| 12A | Lapoile Bay | 2 | - |
| 12B | Cape Ray to Johnson’s Cove | 4 | - |
| 12C | Johnson’s Cove to Cape St. George | 271 | - |
| 12D | Cape St. George to Bear Head | 52 | - |
| 12E | Bear Head to Cape St. Gregory | 55 | - |
| 12F | Inner Bay of Islands | 55 | - |
| 12G | Cape St. Gregory to Broom Point | 59 | - |
| 12H | Broom Point to Table Point | 12 | - |
The 4R3Pn TAC is 736 tonnes.
The Collaborative Post-Season Trap Survey (Use of Fish) TAC is 450 tonnes.
The overall TAC is 57,568 tonnes.
Management measures
The management approach for 2024 includes 6.4m limit of floating rope, trip and weekly limit requirements in the licence conditions, increasing quota levels in Divisions 2HJ, 3LNO, 4R3Pn and Subdivision 3Ps as well as decreasing quota levels in 3K.
Areas 11E, 11W, 12A, 12B, 12D and 12H will continue to operate under a harvesting cap management regime.
In addition, grid based soft-shell protocols are continued in all areas. Areas closed as a result of soft-shell Crab will remain closed for the remainder of the year. Grids closed for soft-shell crab in Shrimp Fishing Areas 4, 5 or 6 will also be closed to Shrimp harvesting for 60 days. All season closure dates are subject to modification if there is a high incidence of soft-shell Crab encountered in the fishery.
Division 2HJ
The overall quota of Snow crab in 2HJ will increase by 10% in 2024 to 1,047 tonnes, up from 951 tonnes in 2023.
- Harvest levels in 2J North will be increased by 20% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 2J South will be increased by 10% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 2H will remain unchanged in 2024.
Division 3K
The overall quota of Snow crab in 3K will decrease by 14% in 2024 to 9,998 tonnes, down from 11,591 tonnes in 2023.
- Harvest levels in 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D will be decreased by 5% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in Area 4 will be decreased by 17% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 3BC will remain unchanged in 2024.
Division 3LNO
The overall quota of Snow crab in 3LNO will increase by 13% in 2024 for a total of 36,403 tonnes, up from 32,224 in 2023.
- Harvest levels in 3NO 200, 3N 200, 3L 200, 8Bx North and 8Bx South will be increased by 50% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 6B will be increased by 45% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 6C will be increased by 40% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 6A, 8A and 9A will be increased by 20% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 5A and NS will be increased by 15% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 8B and 8Bx will be increased by 10% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in MS, MS/Ex and 3L Ex will remain unchanged in 2024
Subdivision 3Ps
The overall quota for Snow crab in Sub- division 3Ps will be increased by less than 1% in 2024 to 8,936 tonnes, up from 8,898 tonnes in 2023.
- Harvest levels in 11E will be increased by 20% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 10A, 10B, 11S and 11W will remain unchanged in 2024.
Division 4R and Subdivision 3Pn
The overall quota for Snow crab in division 4R and sub-division 3Pn will be increased by 20% in 2024 to 736 tonnes, up from 613 tonnes in 2023.
- Harvest levels in 12D will be increased by 30% in 2024.
- Harvest levels in 12C, 12E, 12F, 12G, Outside of 8 Miles, Bay of Islands and Bay St. George will be increased by 20% in 2024.
- Harvest levels 12A, 12B and 12H will remain unchanged in 2024.
In an effort to ensure the overall amount of crab allocated to harvesters does not exceed the quotas allocated, there may be some variance between the individual harvest level increases noted above and the total quota increases by Crab Management Area.
Links to other information
- The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Science Advisory Reports on stock status
- Newfoundland and Labrador Region Statistical Reports
- Date modified: