DFO reminds harvesters in Mackerel Fishing Areas 1 -14, in vessel class A432, the personal use mackerel bait fishery will open at 0600 hours on Monday, May 27, 2024, for the initial 235 t allocation.
Harvesters participating in this personal use mackerel bait fishery are reminded:
• they are restricted to a daily limit of 454 kg (1,000 lbs) to be fished by either gillnet or handline, with only one of these authorized gear types permitted to be onboard the vessel at any one time.
• a mandatory hail-in will be required for all harvesters participating in the mackerel bait fishery. An accurate catch estimate must be provided prior to offloading your catch. Harvesters must hail a trip summary to the Fish Harvesters’ Resource Centre at 1-877-884-7359 / 1-888-562-4511
Harvesters will be notified of closures through a Notice to Fish Harvesters. The second 235 t allocation release will also be conveyed through a Notice to Fish Harvesters with an expected release date in August.
Bait licences will be available to harvesters through the National Online Licensing System
The reopening of the mackerel bait fishery will also provide harvesters the opportunity to collect length frequencies data on a voluntary basis, which can aid to inform the age structure of the stock for future stock assessments. For interested fish harvesters, please refer to the following link: Voluntary length frequency reporting for mackerel
The Regional Director General, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Regions gives notice that Variation Order 2021-295 has been revoked and Variation Order 2024-064 comes into effect on May 25, 2024.
"Notices to Fish Harvesters" for all commercial fisheries are now available online under the Fishery Notices link on the DFO NL Region webpage at Newfoundland and Labrador Region
If you would like to have all "Notices to Fish Harvesters" for commercial fisheries sent directly to you by email, please contact: miranda.pryor@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
