Moncton, Québec City, Corner Brook – May 12, 2010 -

Allowable Catch (TAC) and other conservation measures for groundfish, the Department of Fisheries

and Oceans (DFO) authorizes an interim fishery for certain species of groundfish in the Gulf of St.

Lawrence (3Pn, 4RST).

Thus, the 4RST Greenland Halibut fishery for the fixed gear fleet under ITQ, 4T Yellowtail Flounder,

4T American Plaice, 4RST Witch Flounder, and 4RST Winter Flounder fisheries will open on

May 15, 2010 at 00:01 a.m. local time. Management measures for the above-listed species, including

fleet quotas, remain essentially unchanged from 2009 until the approval of TAC and management

measures for 2010-2011. Please consult the 2009 Conservation Harvesting Plans (CHP) for your fleet

sector or the attached table to find the key management measures for specific fisheries.

Licensed fish harvesters who want to participate in fishing activities for any of the above noted species

should ensure that proper agreements with dockside monitoring and at-sea observer companies are in

place, and obtain new

Once the TAC and management measures for the 2010-2011 Gulf groundfish fishery are announced,

the updating of 2010-2011 CHPs will be completed in consultation with concerned fleets, and other

fisheries will be authorized.