Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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Archived – Food and Bait Herring
Archived Content
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Area
- Food and Bait Herring Gulf - Areas 13, 14, 17, 18 and 29
- Food and Bait Herring North - Areas 3, 4 and 5
Date of season (subject to change)
November 7, 2009 to February 9, 2010.
Total Allowable Catches and Sharing Arrangements (if applicable)
Food and bait herring are commercially harvested under the authority of a category ZM licence. As a licence condition for the food and bait fishery, all licensed fishing vessels are required to have at-sea observer coverage by a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) designated observer while carrying out fishing operations. The Total allowable catch for the Food and Bait fishery is 350 short tons
First Nations are authorised to fish for Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) purposes on a priority basis through the use of communal licences. DFO will consult with First Nations to determine their FSC requirements for herring. First Nations will have opportunities to harvest herring for FSC purposes and this will have priority over access for commercial and recreational user groups.
A Fisheries and Oceans Canada Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence is required for the recreational harvest of herring. The daily maximum sport limit for herring is 20 kg, with a two-day possession limit of 40 kg.
Management Measures
There were six commercial Food and Bait Herring licences issued for the 2009/2010 fishery. The food and bait herring fishery will be monitored using both on-board observers and dockside validation to ensure accurate landing records of all fish harvested. A precautionary harvest rate of 20 percent of the mature biomass ensures that 80 percent of the adult herring population is available to predator species and are protected for future ongoing production. Post-season meetings are held to review management measures, timing of fishing season, fishing areas and habitat impacts, as well as assessing catch monitoring.
DFO seeks to provide for the effective management and regulation of the First Nations fishery through negotiation of mutually acceptable and time-limited agreements.
