Charlottetown, (P.E.I.) and Antigonish, (N.S.) - October 14, 2026 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is announcing the opening date and management measures for the scallop fishery in Scallop Fishing Area (SFA) 24, for 2026.
Fishing Season
The fishery will open at 06:00 on Monday, November 2, 2026 and close at 17:00 on Wednesday, December 16, 2026.
There will be daily closures each day from 17:00 to 06:00 the following day and the fishery will be closed all day on Sundays.
Furthermore, it is reminded that, during the period where fishing is authorized, it is the responsibility of the licence holder to take into account the marine safety notices issued, among others, by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Transport Canada, as well as the standards and best practices in marine safety, and to take all measures to ensure a safe fishery.
NEW in 2026
Electornic logbooks and Hail out
As announced in a separate Notice to Fish Harvesters, the use of an Electronic logbook (ELOG) and Hail out are mandatory starting in 2026 for all active scallop licence holders in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. These new requirements apply to all commercial and communal commercial licence holders in SFA 21, 22, 23, and 24.
Please refer to the following Notice to Fish Harvesters for more information:
- 2026 - Mandatory Electronic Logbooks for the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in the Rock Crab and Scallop Fisheries
- 2026 - New scallop commercial fishery management measures for the Gulf Region (SFA 21, 22, 23 and 24)
Meat count
Reduced from 52/500 grams to 47/500 grams.
Daily open time
Reduced from 12 hours to 11 hours – The fishery will open daily from 06:00 to 17:00 (except closed Sundays)
Maximum number of fishing days per licence holder for the season
25 days. Days will be counted based on hail outs. If you have an active hail out and do not leave port, please be sure to cancel your hail. Any hail out that remains in effect will count as a fishing day.
Vessel transfers
A vessel previously used under an SFA 24 licence with a hail out, cannot be transferred to another SFA 24 licence in the same year.
The following management measures will remain in effect for the 2026 fishing season. Further details are available in the scallop licence conditions:
Washers
A maximum of two (2) steel washers may be used to join each side of the rings together, giving a maximum of eight (8) steel washers per ring. In addition, one rubber washer may be used vertically to join two (2) bucket rings together. The maximum outside diameter of rubber washers must not exceed 50.8mm. Furthermore, chaffing gear on the underside of the drag will be allowed when the rings are joined only with steel washers.
Ring Size
The authorized ring size in the bucket construction is set at 82.6 mm (3¼ inches) with the exception of the first row of rings attached to the bucket frame, where the inside diameter of all rings shall not be less than 76.2 mm (3 inches).
Drag Size
Maximum width of 5.08 m outside measurements.
Offloading Requirements
Licence holders are not authorized to land (off-load) any other part of the scallop except for the adductor muscle (no roe or other internal organs of the scallop may be retained).
Mandatory reporting of interactions with marine mammals
Any accidental contact between a marine mammal and a vessel or fishing gear must be reported.
Buffer Zones
All existing buffer zones remain in place for the protection of lobster habitat and the ecosystem.
Note – DFO has received support from several industry representatives on increasing the ring size in the coming years. This will be discussed further at the advisory meeting in 2027.