GVO-2025-078

The Regional Director General for the Gulf Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, hereby gives notice of the changes varying the seasons and quotas for recreational fishing for groundfish in the following waters of Division 4T.

• All waters of Division 4T except those waters mentioned below:
  Closed December 22, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
   

• The waters within 50 metres of the coastline of Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec.  
  
  Open Season: From January 31, 2026 to April 12, 2026.
  Daily Bag Limit: Each person engaged in recreational fishing can, in any day, catch and retain a total of 15 (fifteen) groundfish of all species in the aggregate, except 0 (zero) cod, haddock, pollock, halibut, northern wolffish, Atlantic wolffish, spotted wolffish, skates and white hake.
   
• The portion of Division 4T known as 4T2a (Îles-de-la-Madeleine) enclosed by rhumb lines (similar to straight lines plotted on a nautical chart) joining the following points in the order which they are listed (NAD27):
            Point  North Latitude    West Longitude
            1.    46º50'00"N    61º32'00"W
            2.    47º30'00"N    63º30'00"W
            3.    48º36'45"N    62º16'00"W
            4.    47º56'00"N    60º17'00"W
            5.    46º50'00"N    61º32'00"W
  
  Open Season: Daily, from 07:00 to 22:00 hrs, January 20, 2026 to March 31, 2026.
  Daily Bag Limit: Each person engaged in recreational fishing can, in any day, catch and retaina total of 10 (ten) groundfish, comprised of only greenland cod and 0 (zero) retention of all other groundfish species.
   
• The waters from the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord lying upstream of a line joining Pointe Noire, Baie-Sainte-Catherine (48°07’24”N, 69°43’00”W) to Pointe Rouge, Tadoussac (48°08’06”N, 69°42’06”W):
  
  Open season: From January 10, 2026 to March 8, 2026.
  Daily Bag Limit: Each person engaged in recreational fishing can, in any day, catch and retain five (5) groundfish of all species in the aggregate, except zero (0) white hake, skate, halibut, northern wolffish, Atlantic wolffish, and spotted wolffish.
   

Note: When the geographic boundary of an area is expressed in Latitude and Longitude those point references are based on the geodesic system North American Datum 1927 (NAD27). Positions are expressed in degrees, minutes, seconds. The times listed above are expressed as local time for the time zone in which fishing activity is taking place.

Refer to Gulf Region Close Time Variation Order 2025-078 issued on December 22, 2025. For further information regarding this order, please contact your local fishery officer.  To receive an electronic copy of all future variation orders issued by the Gulf Region, please email DFO.GLFOrders-OrdonnancesGLF.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca and provide your email address to be placed on our variation orders distribution list. Notices of all active variation and prohibition orders can be viewed on the Web site of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Gulf Region, under Orders Registry.

Gulf Region Close Time Variation Order 2025-011 is hereby revoked.

Gulf Region Close Time and Quota Variation Order 2025-078 comes into force on December 22, 2025.
 

Céline Gaudet
Regional Director General
Gulf Region