Closed area for softshell clam and blue mussel harvesting in a Lower St. Lawrence area

April 15, 2019

Québec, Quebec - Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec Region, wants to inform the Lower St. Lawrence population that, according to the Quebec Region Variation Order 2019-Q-753, the recreational fishing for Softshell Clam and Blue Mussel, in the shellfish harvesting area Baie du Ha! Ha! (B-03.5), is closed for conservation reasons until further notice.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists recommended this closure after analyzing data from the annual monitoring conducted since 2007 by Parc national du Bic staff and yields from various fishing activities. The data collected show that in recent years the amount of Softshell Clams is decreasing. Blue Mussel harvesting is prohibited as a precaution measure to preserve the resource.

The shellfish harvesting area Baie du Ha! Ha! goes from Pointe à Mercier to Cap à l’Orignal.

Report poaching incidents

If you witness poaching, destruction of fish habitats, or the disturbance of marine mammals, contact the DFO Poaching Alert Network. In doing so, you will be assisting fishery officers and helping protect marine resources.

There are two ways to send us information:

• From a computer or a mobile device, using the online form. The form also allows you to submit photos. The information will then be sent to a fishery officer : https://inter-w01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/applications/Poaching-Alert/en
• By telephone at the Poaching Alert line: 1-800-463-9057. Note that employees answering Poaching Alert calls are not fishery officers and cannot inform you of the status of a report. They send the reports to fishery officers as soon as they receive them.

For more information on shellfish harvesting and open and closed harvest areas, please visit our website at www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/CheckBeforeYouHarvest or dial one of the following phone numbers:

CHARLEVOIX, NORTH SHORE AND ANTICOSTI ISLAND    
From Ile-aux-Coudres to Baie-Trinité    1-800- 463-8558    
From Baie-Trinité to Blanc-Sablon    1-800- 463-1736    
    
LOWER St. LAWRENCE AND GASPE PENINSULA
From Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies to Cap Gaspé    1-800- 463-0607
From Cap Gaspé to the Matapédia River    1-800- 463-4204

MAGDALEN ISLANDS       418-986-3882