Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Assoc.

Notice to PEI Fall Herring Fish Harvesters - HFA 16G AREA ONLY

CAPTAINS/VESSELS FOR HIRE

ACOUSTIC SOUNDINGS & VARIABLE MESH NET HERRING PROJECT

For the direct link to the registration, please click here.

1) Seeking 1 Captain/Vessel for hire – For the Acoustic Soundings (using equipment provided) in HFA 16G North Lake area (1 grid).

2) Seeking 2 Captains/Vessels for hire – one to set/sample one stand-alone experimental 5-panel testnet in Fishermen’s Bank and one testnet to sample in North Lake during the commercial fishery. Up to 5 samples per season.

More information on participant qualifications can be found at www.peifa.org or by contacting Laura Ramsay @ the PEIFA Office at 902-566-4050.

The following are a list of details/qualifications for the new participants in the Herring project:

1) Captain/Vessel for hire – Acoustic Sounding of designated grid in North (HFA 16G)

· Fisher must be reliable and experienced in the herring fishery in HFA 16G.

· The location for the scientific equipment must be clean and dry at all times.

· Fisher must temporarily fix a pole to the washboard with a transducer on and run the cable to the location where the scientific equipment will be housed.

· The fishing vessel sounder used by the captain must be of a different frequency than 120 KHz.

· Fishing vessel must not have or use a generator on board during fishing activities if it interferes with the scientific equipment.

· Fisher must fill out a logbook.

· Captain is responsible person to download the acoustic data regularly from the computer on board to a memory stick and download the data to an ftp site for project verification.

· Captain must provide proof of marine insurance for the participating vessel.

· Captain must obtain worker’s compensation insurance covering all employees engaged in the work (can be purchased solely for the project at minimal cost).

· A T4A will be issued to the Captain upon completion of the survey samples.

NEW PAYMENT SCHEME FOR CAPTAINS for 2024:

Allowed up to 5 trips per season.

· Strata 19 (North Lake): $400

2) 2 Captains/vessels for hire – one Captain to set and sample one stand-alone experimental 5 variable mesh panelled testnet in Fishermen’s Bank and one testnet to sample in North Lake during the commercial fishery. Up to 5 samples per area per season. 2 samples per week is possible.

· Captain must be reliable, experienced, and actively participating in the 2024 herring fishery in HFA 16G in Fishermen’s Bank and/or North Lake

· Captain will be expected to fish a variable mesh test net (provided to them by DFO) up to 5 times throughout the season, planning on one sample per week with possibility of two samples per week. The net contains 5 different panels with a different mesh size for each panel. Fisher must also separate the catch from these 5 panels into different fish pans onboard their vessel and clearly indicate which mesh size corresponds to each fish pan.

· Fisher must communicate with a hired technician, who will meet the Captain on shore for further data collection of the fish.

· Captain must fill out a logbook when he fishes the experimental net with details of the catch by mesh size.

· Captain will be issued a section 52 permit to accompany the net and project.

· Payment is $1200 per sample (up to 5 samples per season per area (North Lake or Fishermen’s Bank).

· A T4A will be issued to the Captain upon completion of the samples.

· Captain must provide proof of insurance for participating vessel.

· Captain must obtain worker’s compensation insurance covering all employees engaged in the work. (can be purchased solely for the project at minimal cost).

Deadline to submit your name: August 28^th at 2PM

A draw of qualified Captains will take place immediately following the deadline.