Commercial fisheries licensing rules and policies reference document Pacific region

Crab

Categories R and FR

Licence category

A commercial or communal commercial crab licence (category R or FR) is required to commercially harvest crab by trap. Category R licence eligibilities are limited entry and vessel based. Category FR licence eligibilities are party based and must be annually designated to a registered Canadian commercial fishing vessel that meets established length restrictions. Category FR licences are held by a First Nation.

Vessels authorized to fish under authority of a crab licence are also permitted to:

• fish for Schedule II Species according to the conditions of each licence;
• transport fish caught by other vessels; and
• be designated to fish under the authority of a category Z licence.

Licence category background

Commercial crab fishing is limited to the use of trap or ring net gear with specific restrictions.

Crab licences authorize the harvest of Dungeness Crab Cancer magister) and Red Rock Crab (Cancer productus). Retention of King Crab, Red (Paralithodes camtschatica) and Golden (Lithodes aequispina) is permitted only by special arrangement which may be made after submitting a request through the National Online Licensing System. Instructions are available.

Prior to 1990, crab was a Schedule II Species fished under authority of limited entry vessel based licences (i.e. categories A, B, C, G, K, L, N, S or T). The crab licence category was not limited for 1990 and had an annual fee of $200 applied.

In August 1990, the crab category R vessel based licence eligibility was established and in 1991, limited entry was introduced in this fishery. The criteria to establish crab licence eligibility was:

• 6,804 kg (15,000 lbs.) cumulative recorded landings which continued over the three-year period from 1987 to 1989 inclusive; and,
• applicants must have held a 1990 Crab licence.

Annual area selection with five area choices applied until a three-year pilot area selection program was implemented in 1997, which increased the number of area choices to seven. Areas C and D were split into two sub-areas: Area C became Area G (north) a nd Area H (south); and Area D became Area I and Area J.

For the three-year (1997-2000) pilot program, Areas G and H were recombined into Area C. Areas I and J, however, were given annual area designation and were limited to a maximum of 300 traps.

Vessel owners selected new areas prior to the opening of the 2000 fishing season. Licence eligibilities issued in 1999 were valid for the period of January 1st to April 30, 2000 to facilitate the area selection process.

In 2002, crab vessel owners/licence eligibility holders selected an area for the three year period beginning January 1, 2003 and ending December 31, 2005. In 2005, the vessel owners/licence eligibility holders selected an area for the three year period beginning January 1, 2006 and ending December 31, 2008. In 2008, they selected an area for a one year period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2009. In 2009, vessel owners/licence eligibility holders selected an area for a three year period beginning January 1, 2010 and ending December 31, 2012.

In 2008, as a result of varied management actions required within Area E, vessel owners in this area were required to select one of three area options:

• Sooke Option – Areas 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 121, 125 and 126
• Tofino Option – Areas 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 121, 123, 124, 125 and 126
• Quatsino Option – Areas 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 121, 125, 126 and 127

Licences were not permitted to be re-designated or moved between areas within Area E.

A pilot trap tag program was implemented in Area B in 1999. Under this program, trap tags were required on all traps and a maximum of 400 traps per vessel was allowed. To facilitate the move towards trap limitation in all areas, the expiration date for the 1999 licence was extended to April 30, 2000.

Trap limits became a condition of the crab licence in all areas on May 1, 2000. Trap limits were set at:

• Area A – from six to 1,200, based on vessel length;
• Area B – maximum 400;
• Areas E and G – maximum 500;
• Area H – maximum 436; and
• Areas I and J – maximum 300.

Fishing Areas

Trap reallocation

Temporary crab trap reallocation will be permitted on an annual basis.

Where traps are reallocated to another vessel within the same fishing area, 100% of the traps associated with the crab licence eligibility reallocating the traps will be relinquished and the trap allocation will be zero for the licence year. Whereas the receiving vessel may then fish a maximum of 50% of the relinquished traps. All trap reallocations will be reverted back to the original crab licence eligibility at the end of the licence year.

All requests to temporarily reallocate the crab traps must be done prior to license issuance and the applicable deadline. Trap reallocations cannot be reversed once the transaction has been completed.

Licence renewal fee

The annual renewal fee for a commercial category R licence is $590.00.

There is no annual renewal fee for a communal commercial category FR licence.

Licence issuance

A commercial Crab licence must be renewed, and the renewal fee paid, every year by March 31st to retain the privilege to be issued the licence in the future. This means that vessel owners must renew the licence whether they intend to fish or not. If the licence is not renewed by March 31st, the licence will cease and DFO will not be able to consider a request to issue that licence in the future.

Every year, communal commercial Crab licence eligibility holders must also designate a fishing vessel to hold the licence by submitting a request through the National Online Licensing System. Instructions are available.

Prior to licence issue, vessel owners and licence eligibility holders must ensure that:

• any ministerial conditions placed on the licence eligibility have been met;
• any conditions of the previous year’s licence have been met, such as the completion, submission, and approval of harvest logs and fish slips; and
• participation in a DFO-approved Crab trap limit compliance program has been established by indicating that arrangements have been made for a third party to:
  • receive hails of fishing activity;
  • issue logbooks and trap tags and replacements; and
  • provide an on-grounds inspection of gear for compliance with trap limits.
• the designated vessel's overall length does not exceed the maximum vessel length of the category FR licence eligibility.

Licence documents

Crab licence documents are valid from the date of issue to March 31st of the next calendar year.

Vessel owners or licence holders may reprint any lost or destroyed licence documents using the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).

Trap limits

Compliance with trap limits is monitored through several programs including electronic monitoring or at-sea observers, plastic trap tags, and on-ground compliance checks. Harvesters must take an active role in ensuring compliance with trap limits by meeting their trap tagging, reporting and monitoring requirements.

Trap limits have been established in each area coast wide. A listing of the trap limits for each area can be found within the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) – Crab, which can be found on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Federal Science Library page.

Vessel replacement

The owner(s) of a Crab licensed vessel may apply to replace a commercial fishing vessel. Both the replacement vessel and the vessel being replaced must have a survey on file with the Pacific Fishery Licence Unit or the survey must be submitted with the vessel replacement application. Vessels must be surveyed according to DFO guidelines.

Vessel owner(s) should also note the following rules:

• the replacement vessel may not exceed the overall length of the vessel being replaced;
• any ministerial conditions placed on the licence eligibility must be met, as well as any application requirements and conditions of the licence;
• stacking of Crab licence eligibilities is not allowed;
• licence eligibility area changes are not permitted at the time of vessel replacement; and
• Crab licence eligibilities become married to other vessel based licence eligibilities when combined on a vessel and may not be separated.

Communal commercial licences are not eligible for vessel replacement.

The Application to Replace a Commercial Vessel form is available

Temporary vessel replacement

Temporary vessel replacements are allowed if the vessel has been declared a loss or the vessel is out of service due to an accident or unforeseen damage. Vessels that are in disrepair at the time of purchase, have engine problems, or have encountered delays in annual maintenance or rebuilding do not qualify for a temporary replacement.

Written confirmation from an insurance company, shipyard, or marine engineer explaining why the vessel is inoperative must be submitted to a Pacific Fishery Licence Unit when declaring the vessel a total loss.

Temporary replacement vessel may not exceed the overall vessel length plus 10 per cent of the Crab vessel.

Should the Crab licence eligibility be temporarily split from other licence eligibilities, the remaining eligibilities may not be placed on a third vessel.

If you require further discussion or information on the above mentioned vessel replacement policies, please contact the Pacific Fishery Licence Unit.

Logbooks

Logbooks for area A may be obtained through Ecotrust Canada by calling 250-624-4191.

Logbooks for all other areas may be obtained through Pacific Coast Fishery Services Inc. by calling 250-390-1822.

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