Language selection

Search

2021 - Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Snow Crab Conservation Harvesting Plan Crab Fishing Area 12 (12, 18, 25, 26)

Moncton and Quebec – March 29, 2021

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) releases the details of the 2021 Crab Fishing Area (CFA) 12 (12, 18, 25, 26) Conservation Harvesting Plan.

Quota

The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in CFA 12 is 20,128.83 t. Details of the sharing of the TAC can be found in the CFA 12 Snow crab administrative list.

Quota reconciliation

Quota reconciliation is applied in this fishery. Quota overruns during the 2021 season by a licence holder will be deducted in 2022 on a one-for-one basis. It is the responsibility of the licence holder to respect the allocation granted while taking into consideration transfers and landings and has to make the necessary arrangements before departing for a fishing expedition to have quota to cover expected catches for the expedition. 

Temporary transfers

Licence holders who are subject to the owner-operator policy may transfer up to 50% of his or her initial quota on a temporary basis, within one fishing season.

Partnership arrangements

The creation of partnerships is permitted. The trap limit for partnerships will be equal to the total traps of one licence, plus 50%.

New in 2021: Crew registry

The inshore regulations require inshore commercial licence holders, and their approved Substitute Operators, to keep records of all the crew members working aboard the vessel on every fishing trip. These records must be maintained by the licence holder for a period of five (5) years. Refer to the March 17, 2021 Notice to Fish Harvesters for further details and contact the Licensing Office at 1-855-634-2335 or gulfinfogolfe@dfo-mpo.gc.ca for more information.

2021 management measures

Unless indicated otherwise, existing management measures remain in place.  Please refer to your Snow crab licence conditions for further details. The management measures in 2021 include, amongst others:    

2021 management measures to minimize interactions with North Atlantic Right Whales

The management measures to minimize interactions with North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) can be found here.

Trap limits in 2021

In order to continue protecting NARW, all licence holders will have the same total number of authorized traps as in 2020. The following trap limits will be in place for the 2021 fishing season:

* Note: Additional traps may be permitted in accordance with the individual transferable quota program administrative guidelines.

Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area

The Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area (MPA) is in place in order to the ensure the conservation and protection of this marine ecosystem.

Provisions of the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area Regulations apply to licence holders. In order to comply with them, please refer to the clauses that apply to your fishing activities.

Map showing the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area
Figure: Map showing the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area.

For more information:

Josiane Massiéra
Resource Management
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Moncton, New Brunswick
506-227-4509
Josiane.Massiera@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Jérôme Beaulieu
Resource Management
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Quebec, Quebec
418-648-5891
Jerome.Beaulieu@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Date modified: