Gulf Nova Scotia Area

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The Gulf Nova Scotia Area comprises all Nova Scotia waters within the Gulf of St. Lawrence and that part of Nova Scotia drained by rivers emptying into the Gulf. The head office and licensing centre is located in Antigonish, and there are four other offices in the coastal towns of Wallace, Pictou, Port Hood and Chéticamp. The area has approximately 32 small craft harbours, and the Canadian Coast Guard has a station on the Canso Canal, between Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.

The Gulf Nova Scotia Area possesses three main biological components. To the west, Northumberland Strait possesses a number of sensitive environments, such as salt marshes, beaches and estuaries, where many species spawn, grow and feed. In the central part of the area, several rivers drain, via estuaries, into St. George's Bay, which is analogous to a miniature ecosystem and harbours various commercially important species. The Cape Breton Highlands, to the northeast, overlook deep water affording ideal habitat for lobster close inshore and for snow crab and groundfish further out.

The Gulf Nova Scotia Area has played a pioneering role in several respects, as, for example, with respect to co-management and partnering with community groups. Area staff members are noted for their innovative management methods, most notably co-management for crab and herring, the establishment of harbour authorities, and habitat restoration. The 1996 co-management agreement for snow crab in Area 19, the first such agreement in Canada and a highly successful initiative, was signed in the Gulf Nova Scotia Area. Subsequently, in 2001, an objective-based fisheries management plan for snow crab in Area 19 was signed.

Today, the average Gulf Nova Scotia Area fisher earns an income that is among the highest for the industry in Atlantic Canada. The area is characterized by an essentially inshore, multispecies fishery. Nearly 99 per cent of core fishers have multispecies licences and operate boats under 45 feet.

The main species fished are lobster, snow crab, herring and groundfish, particularly American plaice and witch flounder. Oysters and quahogs are cultivated on a smaller scale in the west portion of the Northumberland Strait.

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Some of the Gulf Nova Scotia Area's management-related innovations

• First fishery in Atlantic Canada to use an individual quota management system (for the Cape Breton inshore snow crab fishery);
• 1988: lobster catch size increase pilot project;
• 1995-96: industry-managed temporary allocations for crab;
• 1996: co-management agreement for snow crab in Area 19 (the first of its kind in Canada);
• 1997: individual transferable quotas purchased from the mid-shore fleet by the Gulf Nova Scotia Fleet Planning Board;
• 1998: commitment by the Gulf Nova Scotia Herring Federation to manage daily trip limits for the fall herring fishery.
• 2001: Objective Based Fisheries Management (OBFM) lan for Area 19 Snow Crab.

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How to reach the Gulf Nova Scotia Area

• Area Office:
  Department of Fisheries and Oceans
  2920 Highway 104
  Antigonish County (N.S.) B2G 2K7
  
  
  • Area Director
  • Conservation and Protection
  • Habitat
  • Oceans Act Coordination
  • Resource Management
  • Statistics
  • Small Craft Harbours
  
  Telephone: (902) 863-5670
  Fax: (902) 863-5818
• Licensing Service Centre (Antigonish):
  2920 Highway 104
  Antigonish County (N.S.) B2G 2K7
  Telephone : (902) 863-0533
  Fax: (902) 863-0998