A ''zone d'exploitation contrôlée'' (; acronym ZEC) is a "Controlled harvesting zone" located in public lands areas of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. ZECs are a system of territorial infrastructures set up in 1978 by the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

to take over from private hunting, fishing and trapping clubs (as a result of "Operation wildlife management") to provide timely access to recreational activities to the general public like hunting and fishing.

Administration

They are non profit organisations managed by honorary administrators whose primary responsibility is to manage fishing and hunting activities and see to

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

conservation on their respective territories. ZEC objectives: # Wildlife conservation (hunters and anglers must report their catch) # Access to wildlife resources # User participation # Operations must be financially self-sufficient ZECs fill a much larger economic place than fishing and hunting clubs did as they also promote all types of recreational and tourism activities such as hiking, canoeing,

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

-camping, mountain-biking, rock-climbing, vacationing and cottage rental, camping, wildlife/nature observation, wild berry picking, etc. They are open to all recreational enthusiasts and reservations are generally not required.

Organisation

The 86 ZECs consist of 63 hunting and fishing areas, 22 salmon fishing areas, and one wildfowl hunting area. They are gathered in 11 regional groups whose role is to facilitate exchanges between managers from different ZECs and allow solving common problems. Four years after the first ZEC inaugurations, the Government of Quebec helped the ZEC administrators to found the ''Fédération québécoise des gestionnaires de zecs'' (FQGZ) whose role is to provide a common voice to all the ZECs at the provincial level and promote wildlife conservation.https://www.reseauzec.com/le-reseau/federation FQGZ English page was under construction at viewing October 2007

List across the Province

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zone d'exploitation controlee Tourism in Quebec Protected areas of Quebec Organizations based in Quebec Economy of Quebec Geography of Quebec