Research Document - 2012/035
Trends in the abundance and size composition of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in the September multi-species bottom trawl survey of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1980-2011
By H.P. Benoît
Abstract
The assessment for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) stock has been founded in large part on a dedicated fishery-independent bottom-trawl survey undertaken annually since 1988. Another standardized research vessel (RV) bottom-trawl survey of the southern Gulf (henceforth the RV survey) has been undertaken annually in September since 1971 and has principally been used for assessments and scientific research dedicated to marine fish. As part of a November 2011 framework assessment for southern Gulf snow crab, the RV survey was shown to provide reliable indices of abundance, distribution and habitat use of commercial male snow crab for 2001-present and of all snow crab (aggregated index) for 1980-present. In this research document, such indices from the RV survey are presented in support of the indices produced by the crab survey for the 2012 regional assessment process for the stock, which took place in Moncton, NB on February 7-8. Of particular note, the RV survey confirms an important increase in the abundance of commercial-sized adult male snow crab observed in the crab survey following the 2011 commercial fishery.
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