Research Document 2022/005

Impact of an expanding Redfish (Sebastes spp.) fishery on southern Gulf of St. Lawrence White Hake (Urophycis tenuis)

By Rolland, N., McDermid, J.L., Swain, D.P., Senay, C.

Abstract

The southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) White Hake Designatable Unit (DU) has been assessed as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). This DU consists primarily of White Hake occurring in the Northwest Atlantic Fishery Organization (NAFO) Division 4T. The Recovery Potential Assessment for this stock found that extremely high natural mortality was preventing the recovery of this stock, while fishing mortality with a bycatch limit of 30 t has a negligible effect on the population trajectory. However, if fishing effort is increased as proposed with the expansion of the Redfish fishery, the impacts of bycatch fisheries on this population may no longer be considered negligible.

This report aimed to examine existing information from surveys and fisheries to evaluate whether increased catch levels of Redfish would result in increased bycatch of White Hake. Significant overlap in the spatial distribution of White Hake and Redfish was noted in along the deep waters of the Laurentian Channel. This is partly the result of diet interdependencies among these species and the shift of White Hake to deeper waters to avoid predation. Bycatch of White Hake associated with Redfish was lower at depths greater than 380 m, whereas bycatch was much greater in the months of June, July, and December. Bycatch did not differ significantly based on gear type, however bycatch was overall greater in the southern region of the Laurentian Channel. Overall, the mean value of bycatch was 10.5% in the Redfish fishery. Even in the absence of fishery removals, the sGSL White Hake stock is expected to decline due to extremely high natural mortality. The sGSL White Hake population was projected forward 25 years assuming that productivity would remain at recent levels. SSB was estimated to decline by 38.7% with no catch and 39.3% with annual bycatch of 20 t, the recent level. With annual bycatch of 150 t to 350 t, SSB was estimated to decline by 43% to 48%. With bycatch of 500 t to 1,500 t, SSB declined by 53% to 70%. At present, the White Hake stock is sustained by unusually high recruitment rates which depend largely on a single cohort each year (age 4). The extinction risk for this stock (below 2,000 t) is 22 to 26% with no bycatch up to 150 t, and increases to 30% and 49% at bycatch levels of 350 t to 1,500 t respectively. If recruitment rates were to decline even slightly to the levels seen in the 2000s, the extinction risk for this stock would increase. At the present 30 t bycatch limit for White Hake, White Hake will become a choke species for the future Redfish fishery.

Research Document 2022/005 (PDF, 11,087 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.