The MFU presents the DRAW ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA and REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTED FISHERMEN for the 2023 Community Snow Crab Draw. Members of the MFU who participate in the draw must read them.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MFU’S SNOW CRAB COMMUNITY FISHERY
2023 SEASON
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE DRAW
1. Only members in regulation, interested and ready to conform to all following criteria and requirements are eligible for the draw.
2. A core fisherman who already benefits, during the same year, from snow crab fishing revenues (deckhand, substitute operator, or else) from the midshore fleet or through his own allocation is not eligible for the draw.
3. A core fisherman must have paid all his annual dues from 1997 to 2022 inclusively, or from the year he entered the inshore fishery until 2022, inclusively to be eligible for the draw.
4. For area 23: A new entrant qualifies for the snow crab draw if he purchases a core license that would have been active the season before the transfer.
5. For area 25: A licence can only win the draw once until all licences have won. A new entrant qualifies for the snow crab draw if he buys a license that would have been active the season before the transfer, only if that license didn’t win the draw in the past.
6. Any core fisherman who has been inactive will be required to pay the dues for the years of inactivity, and payment must be made in full prior to the draw to be eligible for the draw.
7. Any active core fisherman who has paid his annual MFU dues must provide a valid Record of Employment (T4) from the previous year, showing a minimum of $25,000 of gross revenues from his core fishing licenses to participate in the draw.
8. For area 23 only: A fisherman must confirm his participation in the draw by calling (506) 395-6366.
9. For area 25 only: The eligible names based on Opilio’s list are included automatically in the draw. All fishermen are responsible to consult the list of eligible names and advise Opilio before the draw if their name has been omitted by mistake.
10. The non-eligible fishermen who would have put their name in the draw and got drawn will receive a written notice explaining the reason of their disqualification in a reasonable delay.
11. The winning fishermen, according to the order of the names drawn in each community, will have to decide if they accept the allocation or not, 72 hours after receiving the confirmation of their allocation by the Opilio (U.P.M./M.F.U.) Inc. team. The absence of a confirmation within the prescribed delay will be considered as a refusal and the allocation will be offered to the next fishermen on the list.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTED FISHERMAN
1. The snow crab license must be issued in the name of an MFU’s member.
2. The snow crab allocation must be fished with an inshore vessel of 44 feet and 11 inches or less in total length.
3. The winner of the draw must be on board of the boat at all time during the capture of his allocation.
4. Experience in snow crab fishery will be considered in the selection of the candidates. In case of doubt on performance based on past-experience with the fisherman or from a safety point of view, Opilio (U.P.M./M.F.U.) Inc. can impose to the fisherman that he hires an experienced captain satisfying Opilio’s requirements for equipment, safety and experience. This experienced captain will need to be physically on board of the vessel with the winning fisherman during the fishing of the full allocation.
5. The inshore vessel used for snow crab fishing must meet Transport Canada safety standards. If the boat does not meet the safety standards, a second boat, which must also meet the regulations, must be chosen.
6. The vessel will need to be ready for fishing on the fishery opening date and must conform to all DFO’s requirements for the fishery.
7. All selected participants will need to sign a contract with Opilio (U.P.M./M.F.U.) Inc. and those who will charter a boat will be required to provide a copy of a contract signed between the fishermen in order to clarify the distribution of the revenues.
