Fishery Notice

Invertebrates

Crab - Fraser River Waters - Area I (Areas 28 and 29, excluding Subareas 29-5 
and 29-8):

Open 08:00 hours June 15 to 16:00 hours November 30, 2017 to commercial fishing 
for Dungeness and Red Rock Crab by ring net, dip net, and trap in the following 
areas:  

Area 28: Subareas 28-4 to 28-7, 28-9 and 28-11 to 28-14 excluding Porteau Cove 
Marine Reserve, Whytecliff Park, Point Atkinson Reef, and sponge reef closures 
in Howe Sound near Defence Island and Passage Island/Queen Charlotte Channel 
see 
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/ceccsr-cerceef/closures-fermetures-eng.html)

Area 29: Subareas 29-4, 29-6, 29-7, 29-9 and 29-10, and portions of 29-2 and 29-
3 excluding dioxin and furan closure areas as outlined in the current 
Integrated Fisheries Management Plan and 2015 Fishery Notice FN0804, excluding 
the Deltaport Roberts Bank Restricted Area, and excluding sponge reef closures 
near Passage Island/Queen Charlotte Channel, Foreslope Hills, Halibut Bank, 
Sechelt, and the Outer Gulf Islands see 
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/ceccsr-cerceef/closures-fermetures-eng.html

VARIATION ORDER NO 2017-296 IS IN EFFECT


Descriptions of year-round closures in Area I are included at the end of this 
notice. 


NOTES:

2017 Trap limits:
During the period 08:00 hr June 15 to 07:59 hr July 5, 2017 a maximum of 100 
traps in total may be fished.  
 
During the period from 08:00 hr July 5 to 16:00 November 30, 2017 a maximum of 
200 traps in total may be fished.
  
The maximum size of traps used to fish for Dungeness Crab is 355 litres in 
volume.  A trap with a diameter of 44 inches (112 cm) and a height of 14 inches 
(36 cm) is 355 litres in volume. 

Escape Holes:
All crab traps must be fitted with at least two escape holes that are not more 
than 100 mm below the top of the frame.  Both of the escape holes must be at 
least 105 mm in diameter.

Hanging Bait Ban:
All bait must be contained within hard plastic bait containers having a screw 
top lid.  Bait containers may have holes drilled in them but holes shall not be 
larger than 8 mm in diameter. Bait containers that do not meet the requirements 
described above are not permitted in any traps fished.

Single Haul:
Hauling of crab trap gear including lines and buoys attached to traps will be 
permitted only once per day in Area I from June 15 to November 30, 2017.   This 
is referred to as single hauling.

Male Retention Only:
No person shall catch and retain or possess any female crab.

Soft Shell Crab:
Soft-shell crab may not be retained or possessed in the commercial crab 
fishery.  This prohibition also applies to crab buyers and processors. 

"Soft-shell crab" means a crab whose shell is not fully hardened, and yields to 
finger pressure.  A crab with a durometer measurement of 70 units or less is 
defined as a soft-shell crab.  

Size Limits:
No person shall retain or possess any Dungeness crab smaller than 165 mm, 
measured as the maximum distance in a straight line through the greatest 
breadth of the shell. 

No person shall retain or possess any red rock crab smaller than 115 mm, 
measured as the maximum distance in a straight line through the greatest 
breadth of the shell.

Each fisher shall ensure that their measuring gauge is accurate. 

Best Management Practices:
Release all by-catch species with the least possible harm. Retention of 
flatfish, finfish, and soft, female, and undersized Dungeness crab is 
prohibited.

To improve FSC access and to reduce conflicts, keep gear away from areas 
fronting First Nation reserves. 

Buoy lines should be appropriate for water depth and tide cycles.

Keep crab buoys brightly painted and in accordance with licence conditions. 

Minimise wash in harbours, particularly at boat launches, marinas and other 
wharves.

Avoid pulling crab traps through beds of eel grass.

If commercial harvesters are replacing active crab traps with ones that have 
been inactive for more than 18 days they should transfer the RFID chip from the 
active trap to the replacement trap.  This RFID replacement activity will help 
minimise errors associated with reporting violations of soak and trap limits.

Electronic Monitoring:
All vessels must have installed an electronic monitoring (EM) system or provide 
100% observer coverage; and have approved plastic trap tags and RFID chips for 
all traps fished.

All radio frequency identification (RFID) tags shall be scanned by the on-board 
tag reader immediately upon removal from the water. If an RFID chip fails to be 
read, that trap shall be removed immediately from the water until the chip is 
either repaired or replaced.

The service provider for Area I is Pacific Coast Fishery Services Inc. (250-931-
 7686).

This service provider can provide EM coverage, plastic trap tags & RFID Chips, 
enter logbook data, and conduct biological sampling with designated observers.

Service providers may require additional information as part of their agreement 
with licence eligibility holders to ensure that observers can locate the active 
vessels for the on-board biological data collection requirement and to ensure 
proper delivery of the electronic monitoring program.

Plastic Tags
All crab traps fished under the authority of a commercial crab by trap licence 
shall have approved plastic tags, with the current licence year and an 
identification number unique to each individual vessel, attached to each trap. 
Only those plastic crab trap tags that have been reported and registered to be 
fished shall be attached to traps. Each vessel will be issued a total number of 
tags equal to their trap limit plus 10 percent to allow for replacements.

If the vessel master requires more replacement tags than the 10 percent 
allotted, a complete new set of replacement tags shall be issued.  New 
replacement tags shall be marked with the letters "RP" and be a different 
colour than the original set issued.  New replacement tags shall also indicate 
the licence year and be unique to each individual vessel.

Please note: 
To receive replacement plastic tags, the harvester must contact their area crab 
manager. The area crab manager will contact the service provider regarding 
issuing a complete new set of replacement tags. If the harvester is issued a 
new set of replacement plastic tags, all other plastic tags must be removed and 
returned to DFO not later than the 21st day of the month following the issue 
date. Tags that have been replaced are invalid after that date.

Harvest Log and Fishing Location Information:

(1) The vessel master shall maintain a log of all harvest operations and 
provide this information in both hard (paper) copy and electronic copy to the 
Department in accordance with the timing set out (8) below. The content and 
format of the log (paper and electronic) shall meet the requirements as defined 
by Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Shellfish Data Unit.

(2) The harvest and fishing location information recorded in the harvest log 
shall be complete and accurate. 

(3) The information for each day's harvest operations shall be recorded in the 
harvest log not later than midnight of that day.

(4) The vessel master shall enter latitude/longitude co-ordinates in the 
location field of the harvest log for each string or group of traps.  A string 
is defined as traps connected by a line.  A group is defined as single trap or 
short strings of traps in a distinct area (e.g. a bay) not crossing an Area or 
Subarea boundary with no two traps more than 0.5 nautical miles (1 km) apart.  
The vessel master shall:

(a) In the case of a string of traps, record a new line of harvest information 
with a new latitude/longitude coordinate pair to represent one end of the 
string; or
(b) In the case of a group of traps, record a new line of harvest information 
with a new latitude/longitude coordinate pair to represent the centre point of 
the group of traps; and 

(c) Record Latitude/longitude coordinate pairs using degree decimal minute 
format, with information provided to the third decimal point.

(5) The vessel master shall enter their Fishing Identification Number, (Vessel 
Master FIN) from their Fisher Registration Card (FRC) in the space provided at 
the top of each harvest log page.

(6) The harvest log shall be kept on board the licensed vessel.

(7) The harvest log shall be produced for examination on demand of a fishery 
officer or an observer.

(8) The licence holder shall ensure the completed log pages (original copy) and 
electronic copy of the log are forwarded not later than 28 days following the 
end of each month in which fishing occurred to: 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada 
Shellfish Data Unit 
Pacific Biological Station 
3190 Hammond Bay Road 
Nanaimo BC V9T 6N7
Tel: (250) 756-7022 or (250) 756-7306

(9) In the event that a licence holder does not fish under authority of this 
licence, the licence holder shall submit a nil report.  The nil report shall 
include one page from the harvest logbook identifying the vessel, licence tab 
number and the year with 'nil' entered in the body of the log; the licence 
holder shall sign the nil report. 

Fishslip Information:
(1) An accurate written report shall be provided on a fish slip of all fish 
caught and retained under the authority of this licence. 

(2) A report shall be made even if the fish are used for bait, personal 
consumption or disposed of otherwise.

(3) The vessel master shall submit slips not later than seven days after 
landing.  Slips shall be mailed to:
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Fisheries Management Data Unit
Suite 200 - 401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC  V6C 3S4 

Fish slip books may be purchased directly from the printer, Proforma Business 
Forms, phone (604)596-6133. Alternately fish slips can be downloaded free of 
charge, from the DFO website. For more information, see the website 
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/fishslips-carnets/index-eng.html,
or phone the FM Data Unit message line at (604)666-2716.

Licencing: 
Please see the National Online Licencing System (NOLS) at 
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/sdc-cps/licence-permis-eng.htm

Area I Year-Round Crab Closures:

Please enter these coordinates into your GPS unit on your vessel prior to the 
2017 fishing season.

Notice:  Bottom Contact Fishery Closures to Protect Glass Sponge Reefs - Strait 
of Georgia and Howe Sound are now in effect. For more information, closure 
descriptions and maps see 2016 Fishery Notice FN0415 (Variation Order 2015-293) 
and 
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/ceccsr-cerceef/closures-fermetures-eng.html

(a)	Howe Sound - Defence Island Closure
That portion of Subarea 28-4 that lie inside a line:
begins at	49 34.102N	123 17.070W
then southerly to	49 33.730N	123 16.562W
then to	49 33.553N	123 16.462W
then to	49 33.438N	123 16.750W
then to 	49 33.707N	123 17.201W
then to	49 33.993N	123 17.391W
then to the beginning point. [Howe Sound - Defence Islands]

(b) Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel Closures

Those portions of Subareas 28-2 and 29-3 that lie inside the following lines:

Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 1
begins at	49 21.486N	123 17.254W
then southerly to	49 20.528N	123 17.690W
then to	49 20.401N	123 17.956W
then to	49 20.765N	123 18.794W
then to	49 20.982N	123 18.584W
then to	49 21.098N	123 18.037W
then to	49 21.501N	123 17.737W
then to the beginning point. [Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 1]

Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 2
begins at	49 20.288N	123 17.693W
then southeasterly to	49 20.225N	123 17.501W
then to	49 19.993N	123 17.377W
then to	49 19.802N	123 17.444W
then to	49 19.720N	123 17.840W
then to	49 19.937N	123 18.107W
then to the beginning point. [Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 2]

Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 3
begins at	49 19.296N	123 19.905W
then southerly to	49 19.918N	123 19.847W
then to	49 19.307N	123 20.344W
then to	49 19.643N	123 20.421W
then to	49 19.819N	123 20.361W
then to	49 19.947N	123 20.097W
then to the beginning point. [Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 3]

Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 4
begins at	49 20.637N	123 19.162W
then easterly to	49 20.577N	123 18.720W
then to	49 20.441N	123 18.637W
then to	49 20.068N	123 18.818W
then to	49 20.076N	123 19.135W
then to	49 19.718N	123 19.188W
then to	49 19.726N	123 19.514W
then to	49 20.259N	123 19.828W
then to the beginning point. [Howe Sound - Queen Charlotte Channel 4]	

c) Foreslope Hills Closure
That portion of Subarea 29-3 that lie inside a line:
begins at	49 09.634N	123 23.048W
then southeasterly to	49 09.389N	123 22.622W
then to	49 09.187N	123 22.587W
then to	49 09.211N	123 23.567W
then to	49 09.646N	123 23.543W
then to the beginning point. [Foreslope Hills]

d) Halibut Bank Closure
That portion of Subarea 29-2 that lie inside a line:
begins at	49 21.768N	123 41.501W
then southerly to	49 21.174N	123 40.045W
then to	49 20.961N	123 40.139W
then to	49 20.803N	123 39.860W
then to	49 20.565N	123 40.182W
then to	49 21.610N	123 41.843W
then to	49 21.673N	123 42.643W
then to	49 21.895N	123 43.908W
then to	49 22.174N	123 44.748W
then to	49 22.555N	123 44.456W
then to	49 22.188N	123 42.167W
then to the beginning point. [Halibut Bank]

e) Sechelt Closure
That portion of Subarea 29-2 that lie inside a line:
begins at	49 25.948N	123 48.889W
then easterly to	49 25.899N	123 47.266W
then to	49 25.373N	123 46.494W
then to	49 24.734N	123 47.083W
then to	49 24.910N	123 47.951W
then to	49 24.253N	123 48.283W
then to	49 24.845N	123 49.914W
then to the beginning point. [Sechelt]

f) Outer Gulf Islands Closure
Those portions of Subareas 18-1 and 29-4 that lie inside the following lines:

Outer Gulf Islands 1
begins at	48 54.936N	123 19.589W
then southerly to	48 54.283N	123 18.529W
then to	48 54.114N	123 18.619W
then to	48 54.065N	123 18.771W
then to	48 54.787N	123 19.929W
then to	48 54.902N	123 19.793W
then to the beginning point. [Outer Gulf Islands 1]

Outer Gulf Islands 2
begins at	48 52.588N	123 15.261W
then easterly to	48 52.520N	123 14.537W
then to	48 51.971N	123 13.768W
then to	48 51.795N	123 13.947W
then to	48 52.150N	123 14.444W
then to	48 52.038N	123 14.678W
then to	48 52.479N	123 15.521W
then to the beginning point. [Outer Gulf Islands 2]

Outer Gulf Islands 3
begins at	48 51.602N	123 13.233W
then southerly to	48 51.309N	123 12.751W
then to	48 50.913N	123 12.938W
then to	48 50.844N	123 13.059W
then to	48 51.163N	123 13.662W
then to	48 51.579N	123 13.378W
then to the beginning point. [Outer Gulf Islands 3]

Outer Gulf Islands 4
begins at	48 50.999N	123 12.391W
then southerly to	48 50.608N	123 11.603W
then to	48 50.097N	123 10.956W
then to	48 49.959N	123 11.182W
then to	48 50.857N	123 12.654W
then to	48 50.959N	123 12.566W
then to the beginning point. [Outer Gulf Islands 4]

(g) Howe Sound Dioxin and Furan Closure:  Subareas 28-1, 28-2, 28-3, 29-1 and 
those portions of 29-2 and 29-3 north of a line that begins at 49°28.409'N 123°
53.287'W (Reception Point)to 49°19.615'N 123°25.979'W (a point 1.5 km south of 
Cape Roger Curtis on Bowen Island), then to 49°19.823'N 123°15.880'W (Point 
Atkinson Light)(Dioxin and Furan Closure, see 2015 Fishery Notice FN0804 ).

(h) Point Atkinson Reef(Conservation Closure): That portion of Subarea 28-6 
bounded by a line commencing at the southwest entrance to Starboat Cove thence 
seaward in a southwest direction for 85 m, thence westerly following the 
shoreline for 100 m, thence in a northeast direction to a point on land
(i)  Burrard Inlet (Navigational Closure):  Subarea 28-10. 
(j)  False Creek (Navigational Closure):  Subarea 28-8. 

(k) Whytecliff Park (Marine Reserve):  That portion of Subarea 28-2 bounded by 
a line commencing from the most southerly point of Whytecliff Park; thence in a 
straight line to a point located 100 m east of the most south-easterly point of 
Whyte Inlet; thence following the southern shoreline of Whyte Inlet at a 
distance of 100 m to a point lying 100 m from the most south-westerly point of 
Whyte Inlet; thence in a straight line to a point lying 100 m west of White 
Cliff Point; thence following the shoreline at a distance of 100 m in a 
northerly direction to a point 100 m north of Lookout Point; thence following 
the shoreline at a distance of 100 m in an easterly direction to a point 100 m 
perpendicular to the most northerly point of Whytecliff Park; thence to the 
most northerly point of Whytecliff Park on the mainland. 

(l)  Porteau Cove (Marine Reserve): That portion of Subarea 28-4, east of a 
line drawn from a white fishing boundary sign located on the south shore of 
Porteau Cove to a white fishing boundary sign located on the north shore of 
Porteau Cove.
	
(m) Deltaport Roberts Bank Restricted Area (Navigational Closure):

The area surrounding the Deltaport terminal and BC ferry terminal will be a 
navigational closure.  No commercial crab fishing is permitted in this area.  
The exact GPS coordinates of this closed area are as follows:

Commencing from the in-shore end of turning basin
49 01.567N	 123 08.783W then to
49 01.467N	 123 08.533W then to
49 00.950N	 123 08.450W then to
49 00.933N	 123 08.183W then to
49 00.600N    123 07.750W then to
49 00.433N	 123 07.983W then to
49 00.367N	 123 07.833W then to
49 00.467N	 123 07.583W then to
49 00.117N	 123 07.117W then to
49 00.117N	 123 11.267W then to
49 00.917N	 123 11.267W then to
49 00.767N	 123 10.583W then to
49 01.083N	 123 10.317W then to
49 00.817N	 123 09.533W 
then following the shoreline of Deltaport to the beginning point.


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Further information and requirements are documented in the 2017 Conditions of 
Licence, and in the 2017 Crab Integrated Fisheries Management Plan which can be 
found at the WAVES website:
http://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/waves-vagues/ 

These documents are available upon request from:

Anna Magera
Resource Manager
Lower Fraser Area 
Area I 
Tel: (604) 916-6743
E-mail: anna.magera@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0489
Sent May 31, 2017 at 1445

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