Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association

06/09/2026

2026 SCALLOP FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN – SFA 23

For the full Notice to Fishers, please click here:

06/09/2026

Another North Atlantic Right Whale has been detected and will be impacting an area outside the 20-fathom line in Western LFA 24 fishery (Grids HD38, HD39, HD40).

***2026 NARW Update – Additional closures western LFA 24 – Updated June 9th, 2026***

The closure, announced today, with Fishing prohibitions to commence on June 11th, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., DOES affect the PEI lobster fisheries if you are fishing deeper than the 20-fathom line in the closure area.

All affected gear must be removed from the prohibited fishing area before the specified time. No resetting of gear and no new gear is permitted to be set in the water after the DFO Notice is issued. In other words, if you haul your gear, it must be moved. If you are inside the 20-fathom line, you do not need to make any changes as the whale is outside the 20-fathom line. DFO has provided a .GPX file if you wish to upload the closure area on your plotter.

REMINDER: the Shallow water Pilot Project only takes effect inside the 20-fathom line, so it is mandatory to remove gear outside that line. PEIFA will continue to keep a close eye on closures and share on Facebook and the website, when necessary, throughout the 2026 season.

The image attached shows the location of whale closures set to commence on June 11th, 2026 5:00pm.

For the full DFO notice to fishers, please click here:

06/08/2026

***2026 NARW Update - Third Closure of 2026 - June 8th, 2026***

The closure, announced today, with Fishing prohibitions to commence on June 11th, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., DOES affect the PEI lobster fisheries if you are fishing deeper than the 20-fathom line in the closure area.

All affected gear must be removed from the prohibited fishing area before the specified time. No resetting of gear and no new gear is permitted to be set in the water after the notice is issued. In other words, if you haul your gear, it must be moved since the closure was announced yesterday.

If you are inside the 20-fathom line, you do not need to make any changes as the whale is outside the 20-fathom line. DFO has provided a .GPX file if you wish to upload the closure area on your plotter.

REMINDER: the Shallow water Pilot Project only takes effect inside the 20-fathom line, so it is mandatory to remove gear outside that line.

The PEIFA will continue to keep a close eye on closures and share on Facebook and the website, when necessary, throughout the 2026 season.

The image attached shows the location of whale closures set to commence on June 11th, 2026 5:00pm.

For the full notice to fishers, please click herehttps://peifa.org/members/docs/NARW%20Closure%20.pdf

06/04/2026

PEI HALIBUT FISHERY REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

For the direct link to the registration, please click here: https://www.fisherlog.com/pricing-plans/checkout?planId=90299b6b-69ca-4d60-856f-bf2efa85799b&checkoutFlowId=0a95b0d9-04cc-4f96-b90c-134e7ca0c7f8

06/02/2026

PEI BLUEFIN TUNA REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Direct link to the registration: https://www.fisherlog.com/pricing-plans/checkout?planId=742319e4-1f35-4d79-82df-f0e6e9e5b902&checkoutFlowId=34a70f78-ff7f-4254-9363-8cfae2a38fa7

For full details on the registration, please click here:https://peifa.org/members/docs/2026%20PEI%20Bluefin%20Tuna%20Registration%20Ad%20(1).pdf

For Tuna Partnership form, please click here:https://peifa.org/members/docs/2026%20Tuna%20Pooling%20Group%20Application.pdf

06/01/2026

If there are no new detections, the fishing prohibition(s) for the closure off North Lake will be revoked on June 1, 2026 at 5:00 pm.

Full Notice to Fishers can be found here:https://peifa.org/members/docs/NARW%20JUNE%201ST%202026.pdf

05/26/2026

*** Mackerel Bait Fishery Announcement ***
The competitive, personal-use bait fishery for Atlantic Mackerel will open May 27th, 2026, with an interim TAC of 220 tons.

You can find the CHP on the PEIFA website:https://peifa.org/members/docs/2026%20-%20Mackerel%20bait%20fishery%20(Gulf%20Region).pdf
The fishery will open at 10:00 am on May 27, 2026 and we do not expect conditions to be available until tomorrow morning.

The maximum daily quantity of mackerel authorized to catch and retain is 454 kg in total. A maximum of 3 gillnets for a maximum total length of 50 fathoms with a minimum mesh size of 66.7 mm or a maximum of 36 hooks and a maximum of 6 lines.

05/25/2026

***LFA 24 Lobster Tagging***

We are seeing a lot of posts online about tagged lobster, which is amazing. The PEIFA wanted to share a few reminders:

1.) Each tag return enters you into a cash prize draw.

2.) Each fisher will also receive an update on the tagged lobster (it may take a few weeks for the information, but we will get it to you).

To get your name in the draw and receive an update on the tagged lobster, the fisher must share all necessary information about where the lobster was caught (tag number, recapture coordinates, depth, fisher name, date, kept/released).

Here are a few examples of updates that go back to the fisher when we receive all the necessary data:

Preliminary Tag Report Info
Tag #3088
Time-At-Large: 193 days (in other words, we tagged this lobster 193 days ago)
Straight line distance travelled: 3.16 km

Preliminary Tag Report Info
Tag #410
Time-At-Large: 188 days (in other words, we tagged this lobster 188 days ago)
Straight line distance travelled: 8.07 km

05/21/2026

REMINDER: Deadline to register is 4:30 PM TODAY, May 21st, 2026

Captains/Vessels for Hire - Atlantic Mackerel Tagging Project 2026 - Registration is now open!

For full project details, please click here:https://peifa.org/members/docs/FINAL%20-%20Long%20AD%20-%20Mackerel%20Tagging%20Project%202026.pdf

05/21/2026

REMINDER: Deadline to register is 4:30 PM TODAY, May 21st, 2026

Captains/Vessels for Hire: LFA 25 Size at onset Maturity Project 2026 - Registration is now open!

For full details on the project, please click here:https://peifa.org/members/docs/FINAL%20-%20LONG%20AD%20-%20Call%20for%20Captains%20-%20LFA%2025%20SOM%2050%20Project%202026.pdf