Science Advisory Report 2006/034
Assessment of Lumpfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (3Pn, 4RST) in 2005
Summary
Note: Referring to fishing areas 3Pn and 4RST in this report does not necessarily imply a management unit, but rather the areas of interest for this update.
- Lumpfish fishery for caviar strongly depends on market conditions. Certain recent constraints concerning the exploitation of sturgeon caviar could lead to additional pressures on this resource.
- There is very little information on the Gulf of St. Lawrence lumpfish biology and fishery. The implementation of the Fisheries Science Collaborative Program in 2004 made it possible to launch specific research on histology and fecundity, as well as a tagging program. Some improvements are suggested to enhance the follow-up of this fishery and to remedy this situation.
- Without abundance index and sufficient biological data, it is not possible to assess the status of lumpfish in NAFO subdivision 3Pn and divisions 4RST. It is thus recommended to establish a commercial fishery follow-up and sampling program. Moreover, data on life cycle characteristics could be collected on an opportunist basis during scientific surveys.
- Lumpfish seem to move little from one fishing season to the other, which would indicate that the species is rather sedentary. This could also indicate that the resource is distributed into several small units, which makes it more vulnerable to local overexploitation. As lumpfish fishery pressure could increase, it will be necessary to closely watch any increase in landings and take actions if it is estimated that landings exceed the capacity of the resource to support such a level of exploitation.
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.
- Date modified: