Canada Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab - pot/trap

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Overview

This Comprehensive FIP is led by New Brunswick and Quebec Seafood Processors and Fishermen Associations who are actively involved in pilot and sea trial of new and emerging technologies for the reduction of entanglement of right whales in snow crab fishing gear in cfa 12 and surrounding areas. The North Atlantic right whale (NARW)‘s population has been declining since 2010. NARW mortalities can be caused by ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, especially in fixed gear such as pots. Since 2015, a higher number of NARW are migrating to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to feed during the summer and fall. Therefore, areas that traditionally posed no or little risk to NARW now must be considered as possible NARW habitat. This FIP will cover improvements to endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species impacts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery to mitigate the risk to NARW and other ETP species, while maintaining a sustainable Canadian seafood industry. This FIP intends to cover all ETP species indicators in the MSC criteria (2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3).

Chionoecetes opilio CANADA | Gulf of St. Lawrence | Pot /Trap Gear

FIP Description 

This Comprehensive FIP is led by New Brunswick and Quebec Seafood Processors and Fishermen Associations who are actively involved in pilot and sea trial of new and emerging technologies for the reduction of entanglement of right whales in snow cra

FIP Objective(s) 

The overall objective for this FIP is to regain successful MSC certification of the fishery by December 2024.

This FIP intends to cover all ETP species indicators in the MSC criteria (2.3.1, 2.3.2 ) and meet the 80+ score for each.

FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2020
December 2024
Last Progress Report Reviewed 
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Next Progress Report Due 
Monday, September 30, 2024
Species 
Common Name 
Snow Crab (Opilio)
Scientific Name
Chionoecetes opilio
Gear Type 
Pot/Trap
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 21 (Atlantic, Northwest)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Canada
Geographic Scope 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Maritimes ( QC, NB, NS,PEI)
Country Flag of Vessel 
Canada
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
33,725 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
33,725 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2023
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2020
7% 93%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF

A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.

  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Sep 2024
Target End Date
Dec 2024
Additional Impacts:
Traceability

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
MKM GLOBAL
Organization Type 
Consultant
Primary Contact 
Katherine Morissette
Phone 
5147011303
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
15389