Science Advisory Report  2013/011

Assessment of Capelin in SA2 + Div. 3KL in 2013

Summary

• Preliminary landings in 2011 and 2012 were 20,104 t and 22,298 t, respectively, against a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in Div. 3KL of 22,579 t.
• Fish harvesters report normal distribution and abundance in areas fished in recent years. 
• Fall Capelin distribution contracted southerly in the early 1990s.  In 2011-2012 there was an expansion northward into Div. 2J.
• In spring 2011-2012 Capelin were widely distributed.  In 2012 the DFO spring acoustic survey, an independent acoustic study, and the spring multi-species survey reported that Capelin have shifted from the shelf break onto the shelf, along the coast, and further south, a pattern typical of the 1980s.
• Capelin vertical distribution continues to exhibit less diurnal migration, remaining closer to the bottom than in the 1980s; however, Capelin inhabited more shallow depths in 2011-2012.
• The mean lengths and ages of Capelin sampled during the commercial fishery in 2010 and 2011 increased from a low in 2009 but remained smaller and younger than estimates in the 1980s.
• The proportion of age 2’s maturing in recent years (37-79%) has been higher than in the 1980s (less than 5%).
• Since the 1990s spawning times have been delayed by as much as four weeks. Peak spawning at Bryants Cove and Bellevue Beach from 2010 to 2012 was in early to mid-July almost three weeks later than in the 1980s.
• Larval densities from the Trinity Bay September 0-group index since 2003 have been lower than during the mid-1980s, and the mean length of larvae has been smaller.
• Recruitment based on the spring acoustic survey has remained low since the 1980s. Five recruitment indices covering the year classes since 2003 have generally been coherent and indicate that the 2010 and 2011 year classes are comparable to the relatively large 2007 year class.  There is uncertainty concerning the relative size of the 2012 year class.
• The 2011 and 2012 estimates of abundance from the spring acoustic survey in Div. 3L are higher than the 2010 estimate and similar to those of 2007-2009, an order of magnitude below estimates of the 1980s.
• Zooplankton abundance has been above average in recent years and favorable for Capelin growth, distribution and spawning.
• The current impact of predators on Capelin is not well understood. However, the biomass of piscivores since 2005 has been generally higher during than the previous decade but remains lower than the 1980s. Harp Seal abundance has been increasing since a low in the 1970s and has been relatively stable over the recent decade.

This Science Advisory Report is from the Regional Advisory Process of January 29-30, 2013 on the Assessment of Capelin in SA2 + Div. 3KL in 2013.  Additional publications from this process will be posted as they become available on the DFO Science Advisory Schedule.

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