Research Document - 2010/060

Gilbert Bay Marine Protected Area science indicator monitoring

By C.J. Morris and J.M. Green

Abstract

Gilbert Bay, Labrador has been closed to commercial fishing for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) since 1999, and since 2005 it has been a Marine Protected Area (MPA) under Canada’s Fisheries Act and Oceans Act, specifically to protect the genetically distinctive population of Atlantic cod. Demographic characteristics of the cod population and the movement patterns of individual fish have been studied continuously since 1998. Here we describe data used to derive 5 indicators of population change: 1. recruitment of age 0 pelagic juveniles, 2. recruitment of ages 2, 3, and 4 year old fish, 3. research catch per unit effort, 4. movement and migration patterns and 5. catch data from commercial, sentinel, aboriginal, and food fishing. In recent years there has been a low abundance of age-0 pelagic juveniles. Fish comprising relatively strong cohorts have grown in size under protective regulations but recruitment of cod ages 2, 3 and 4 years has been highly variable. Research catch per unit effort has declined, indicating a decline in both numbers and biomass. Tagging and tracking data from external tags and implanted sonic transmitters show that fish < 40 cm generally exhibit high site fidelity while an unknown proportion of larger fish migrate to the outer parts of the Bay, which can include areas well outside the MPA boundaries. Concurrent with the decline, there has been an increase in fishing effort and amount of fish caught in areas adjacent to the MPA

Key-words: Marine Protected Area, Atlantic cod, recruitment, population demographics, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Complete document (PDF, 249 KB)

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.