Fisheries and Oceans Canada will open the competitive, personal-use Atlantic mackerel bait fishery on August 17th, 2026, in all mackerel fishing areas. An additional opening is tentatively scheduled for early October and will be communicated separately. These openings implement the additional bait fishing access announced by the Department on July 3rd, 2026.
For additional information, please refer to the DFO News Release. Participating harvesters will be restricted to a daily limit of 454 kg (1,000 lbs) to be fished by gillnet or handline. Monitoring will be achieved using various measures, including 100% hail-in requirement in all regions.
Additional information related to conditions of license will be available through the National Online Licensing system.