Research Document - 2015/012

Assessing the status of the Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) stock in NAFO Divisions 3LNO in 2014

D.W. Ings, K.S. Dwyer, R.M. Rideout, B.P. Healey, and D. Power

Abstract

The status of the Haddock stock in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Divisions 3LNO was assessed during a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Regional Advisory Process (RAP) held January 29‑30, 2014. Stock status was updated based on information available up to spring 2013. The primary sources of information for the assessment were; total commercial landings from all countries (1953‑2012) and Canadian landings (2013) in conjunction with information from Canadian spring (1972‑2013) and fall (1990-2012) research vessel (RV) surveys of Divisions 3LNO with bottom trawls, plus EU-Spain summer RV trawl surveys (1997‑2013) in 3NO, outside the 200 mile limit.

Landings averaged 42,745 t during the period 1953 to 1962. Then, catches were lower averaging 3496 t annually from 1963 to 1992. This stock has been under moratorium since 1993 and from 1993 to 2012 landings from bycatch averaged 136 t annually. During the last five years, Divs. 3LNO haddock were caught mostly as bycatch in the Yellowtail Flounder and skate fisheries.

The fall RV survey provides valuable indices for Haddock because as the water temperatures warm, fish disperse over the banks from the slope waters where they tend to congregate in winter and early spring. Biomass and abundance indices from the fall RV surveys have varied without trend over time, although the last two years have been higher than the 1995‑2012 average. These results are generally consistent with those from the spring RV survey. Annual recruitment to the stock is episodic. A recruitment index based on fish less than 20 cm in the fall RV surveys was higher in 2011 and 2012 than the 1995‑2012 average. In the absence of a model of population dynamics and the lack of trend in the current RV survey indices at very low catch levels, advice could not be provided on whether to maintain a moratorium on fishing. Despite current levels of removals being low relative to historical values, no significant growth has been observed in this stock.

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