Fishery General

DFO advises that the Fisheries Licensing Policy for Newfoundland and Labrador Region has been amended to include recommendations stemming from industry engagements on vessels and related policies that support owner-operator.

Effective immediately for the 2025 fishing season, the following changes have been implemented:

• Secondary Vessel Length: The maximum authorized length for secondary vessels has been increased to 39’11” for all enterprises.

• Non-Core Vessel Length: Non-core enterprises may now register primary vessels up to 49’11”, aligning with the length restrictions for core enterprises.

• Vessel Registration Duration: A new flexibility has been introduced for the 12-month vessel registration period, allowing a 30-day grace period in the final month.

These changes will be reflected online soon. Harvesters seeking further details are encouraged to contact their local DFO area office.

For more information on the Fisheries Licensing Policy for Newfoundland and Labrador Region, please visit:  Fisheries Licensing Policy Newfoundland and Labrador Region

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) wishes to remind harvesters that ELOGs are mandatory for the 2025 fishing season for the following fisheries: Unit 1 Redfish, Lobster, and Snow crab for the full-time and mid-shore fleets.

To date in 2025, over 1,500 harvesters in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region are successfully using ELOGs with approximately 20,000 ELOG submissions. DFO acknowledges that some harvesters have expressed difficulties using ELOGs, and wishes to remind harvesters of the following resources available:

Information on ELOGs, ELOG providers, and frequently asked questions and answers can be found on DFO’s website at: Electronic logbooks (ELOGS)

Harvesters requiring additional information can contact DFO directly by:
Telephone: 1-877-535-7307

Telephone support is available Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) from 07:00 to 17:00 (Eastern time).
TTY: 1-800-465-7735

For email support: Email: fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca  (please include your name and the DFO Region in which you are located). Emails will receive a response within a few business days.

Guidance and technical support for ELOG Client Applications is provided by ELOG suppliers. ELOG provider websites provide training materials and videos to help harvesters understand their products better. Harvesters with questions on the use of the ELOG technology should consult with the Providers for product support.

DFO would also like to advise harvesters that for the 2025 fishing season in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region, inactive harvesters will not be required to purchase an ELOG. The Department will follow up with further information on how to confirm inactivity.

The Department remains committed to working with industry as we continue to improve and enhance our catch reporting services.

"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

DFO reminds harvesters that the following Marine Conservation Areas remain closed:

Hatton Basin Conservation Area

Hopedale Saddle Closure

Hawke Channel Closure

Funk Island Deep Closure

Northeast Newfoundland Slope Closure

Division 3O Coral Closure

Gilbert Bay Marine Protected Area

Eastport Marine Protected Area

Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area

These areas have varying fisheries restrictions/prohibitions.

More information on the details of these conservation measures can be found at:

(English) Canada’s marine protected and conserved areas   

(French) Aires marines protégées et conservées du Canada  

"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

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans would like to remind that in-person Outreach meetings will be held on the Great Northern Peninsula this week.

The intent of these meetings is to provide inshore harvesters and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to discuss matters of concern with respect to the various inshore fisheries.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 – St Anthony, Lion’s Club: 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 PM (4R3K)

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - Roddickton – Bide Arm, Cross Country Centre: 3:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. (3K)

"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.

DFO advises fish harvesters that fishing licences for 2025 will not be available until after the first few weeks of January 2025. Those fish harvesters who wish to fish during the first weeks of January 2025 must first have their 2024 fishing licences amended by a DFO Fishery Officer or a Licensing Officer to extend their licence to January 26, 2025.

Fish harvesters are advised that before the start of any fishing trip in 2025, they are to place a request in NOLS (National Online Licensing System), with a copy of their 2024 Licence Document attached for a Licensing Officer to amend the licence end date. This will allow harvesters to continue fishing while they are awaiting their 2025 licence through the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).

"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

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans would like to advise that in-person Outreach meetings will be held on the Great Northern Peninsula in the coming weeks.

The intent of these meetings is to provide inshore harvesters and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to discuss matters of concern with respect to the various inshore fisheries.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 – St Anthony, Lion’s Club: 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 PM (4R3K)

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - Roddickton – Bide Arm, Cross Country Centre: 3:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. (3K)

"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

DFO would like to remind harvesters, buyers and the public that you are responsible for submitting commercial fishing logs and purchase slips to the Department as per section 61 of the Fisheries Act and Schedule 4 of the commercial fishing license.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is advising clients that alternative means of delivery, for all items normally sent through regular Canada Post mail, should be used for the duration of any postal services disruption.  These alternate options are also available once the disruption is over.

DFO has various alternate options in place, to enable the timely submission of fishing logs and purchase slips to the department, such as:

• You may hand deliver fishing logs and purchase slips to the nearest DFO Area Office (Goose Bay, Corner Brook, Grand Falls – Windsor, and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre (NAFC) St. John’s). *NAFC drop-off box is located at the Security Gate and will be accessible Monday to Friday, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm, until January 10, 2025. 

• You may use local courier services available to deliver fishing logs and purchase slips to DFO.

For delivery of commercial fishing logs and purchase slips, mailing addresses and contact information are noted below:

1. Corner Brook
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Area Statistics Office
1 Regent Square
Corner Brook, NL
A2H 7K6
Statistics contact Phone (709) 637-4322 or (709) 637-4323

2. Grand Falls-Windsor
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Area Statistics Office
4A Bayley Street, Suite 200
Grand Falls – Windsor, NL
A2A 2T5
Statistics contact Phone (709) 292-5180 or (709) 292-5181

3. St. John’s
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Client Service Center
80 East White Hills Rd
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5X1
Statistics contact Phone (709) 292-5180 or (709) 772-5046

4. Goose Bay
Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Licensing
202 Kelland Drive
P.O. Box 7003, Station C
Goose Bay, NL
A0P 1C0
Statistics contact Phone (709) 292-5180 or (709) 636-6653

"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
 

In Atlantic Canada and Quebec, inshore and coastal licence holders must personally fish the licence issued in their name. Under the regulations, however, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) can authorize an exception to the owner-operator requirement to personally fish, allowing the Department to authorize substitute operators in certain circumstances. These circumstances include when a commercial licence holder cannot fish due to medical reasons or other “circumstances beyond their control”. The Commercial Fisheries Licensing Policy for Eastern Canada limits substitute operators for medical reasons to a maximum of five years.

On December 5, 2024, the Minister announced new Maternity and Parental leave categories for substitute operator in Eastern Canada. These new categories respond to feedback collected from stakeholder engagements and aim to incentivize the next generation of harvesters to join the fishing industry and provide more flexibility to those with new families.

The new Maternity and Parental leave categories for substitute operator will allow a pregnant eligible coastal or inshore licence holder, or an eligible coastal or inshore licence holder who became a new parent by birth or adoption, to designate a substitute operator to operate a licence or licences on their behalf while they care for the child.

Other important information:

• Eligible licence holders have access to Maternity or Parental leave without limit on the number of occurrences. Supporting documentation is required with each request.

• Maternity leave is available up to a maximum of 119 calendar days (17 weeks) after the date of birth or the anticipated due date.

• For safety reasons, a pregnant licence holder may request a substitute operator for Maternity leave at any time during the pregnancy once they have been confirmed to be pregnant. The use of Maternity leave prior to the birth of a child due to safety reasons will not be deducted from the 17 weeks that is available following the birth of a child.

• Parental leave is available up to a maximum of 245 calendar days (35 weeks) from the date of birth or adoption.

• A licence holder who makes use of maternity leave may be eligible for parental leave.

• While licence holders have a maximum of five years of medical substitute operator authorizations over their career, the Maternity and Parental categories in substitute operator will not be counted towards the five-year maximum.

• Unlike employment insurance, the Maternity and Parental leave within the substitute operator policy do not provide financial benefits based on insurable employment or include benefit sharing requirements

Requests will be accepted starting January 1, 2025, using the same regional process used when requesting a substitute operator.

For more details, you can contact your local DFO office or go to DFO’s website.

"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

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans would like to remind that in-person Outreach meetings will be held throughout the Region in the coming weeks.

The intent of these meetings is to provide inshore harvesters and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to discuss matters of concern with respect to the various inshore fisheries.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Monday, December 9, 2024 - Greenspond, Greenspond Firehall: 3:00-5:00pm

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - Fogo, Anglican Church Hall (Centre Island): 10:00am-12:00pm

A meeting for St. Anthony and Roddickton Areas will be scheduled at a later date.

"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

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans would like to remind that in-person Outreach meetings will be held throughout the Region in the coming weeks.

The intent of these meetings is to provide inshore harvesters and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to discuss matters of concern with respect to the various inshore fisheries.

The meeting schedule for 4R3Pn and 3Ps harvesters is as follows:

Monday, November 25, 2024 – Clarenville, Lions Club: 6:30–8:30pm

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – Corner Brook, Glynmill Inn: 1:30–3:30pm

Thursday, November 28, 2024 – Port Aux Basques, St. Christopher's Hotel: 1:30-3:30pm

A meeting for St. Anthony and Roddickton Areas will be scheduled at a later date.

"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