The following clarification was provided the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This is to clarify a condition with regard to the herring commercial 16 C, E & F and herring/mackerel bait fisheries. Conservation & Protection (C&P) have had many questions regarding this issue and would like to inform fishers of the requirements. It is a requirement by condition of licence that nets be tagged on the buoy and not the head rope. DFO C&P are finding that fishers are still tagging nets on the head rope and are unclear of the tagging requirements. Each the commercial and bait fisheries have requirements of what constitutes one net thus requiring the proper amount of tags per fleet of nets.
These are found in the fishers license conditions;
Herring Commercial 16 C&E, F, G Spring;
The licence holder/vessel operator shall not fish with or have on board the vessel, a
gillnet unless a single valid tag with a unique identification number is securely affixed to a
buoy attached to one end of the gillnet or combination of nets in the manner for which the tag
was designed and in a manner such that the tag is readily visible without the necessity of
lifting the buoy. One tag is required for each 15.5 fathoms of gillnet and the appropriate
number of tags must be affixed to a buoy attached to one end of the gillnet or combination of
gillnets. Where a gillnet measures less than 15.5 fathoms a tag is required for each gillnet.
This tagging requirement applies only to fishing gear required to be tagged.
Herring/Mackerel Bait;
The licence holder/vessel operator shall not fish with or have on board the vessel, a
gillnet unless a single valid tag with a unique identification number is securely attached to a
buoy attached to one end of the gillnet or combination of nets in a manner for which the tag was
designed and in a manner such that the tag is readily visible without the necessity of lifting
the buoy. One tag is required for each 16.67 fathoms of gillnets and the appropriate number of
tags must be affixed to a buoy attached to one end of the gillnet or combination of gillnets.
Where a gillnet measures less than 16.67 fathoms, a tag is required for each gillnet. This
tagging requirement applies only to fishing gear required to be tagged.
The maximum cumulative length of gill nets permitted on board the vessel or permitted to be
used when fishing must not exceed 50 fathoms. One gillnet is considered as 16.67 fathoms of head
rope in length. Gill nets are also restricted to a maximum of 150 meshes deep. The minimum mesh
size for all species is 57.1 mm for the period January 1 to June 30, 2016 and 66.7 mm for the
period July 1 to December 31, 2016.
For more information contact your local C&P officer or Glen Gillespie (DFO C&P) 902-888-4001
