Science Advisory Report 2019/023

Assessment of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST) Greenland Halibut stock in 2018

Summary

• The total allowable catch (TAC) for Greenland Halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was reduced by 25% in 2018-2019 following fourteen years at 4,500 t. Landings totaled 1,496 t (preliminary as of December 31, 2018), well below the fishing allocation of 2,813 t. These landings are the lowest of the last 16 years.
• Across the Gulf, gillnet fishing effort has been stable since 2015 and below the series average. In 2018, fishing effort increased in northern Anticosti and Esquiman while decreasing in the western Gulf.
• The commercial fishery performance index for the entire Gulf shows a downward trend, with a 48% decrease in 2018 from the 2014-16 peak, reaching the low values observed at the beginning of the series. In 2018, the Northern Anticosti and Esquiman indices improved relative to the lowest values of 2017.
• The biomass indices for fish over 40 cm from DFO's mobile surveys and the sentinel fisheries program show a downward trend over the past decade. These decreases are 62% and 77% respectively, compared to the peak observed in the mid-2000s. The biomasses estimated in 2018 were similar to those of 2017.
• At the Gulf scale, the exploitation rate indicator has remained near the series average in 2018. This indicator is decreasing in the western Gulf area and increasing in northern Anticosti and Esquiman.
• The 2013 cohort, abundant at 1 year, has displayed a lower than expected growth rate. The abundance of this cohort has declined significantly and its contribution to the fishery could be much smaller than expected. The abundance of the 2017 cohort was above average in 2018.
• The Gulf of St. Lawrence Greenland Halibut stock status indicator was in the cautious zone of the proposed precautionary approach in 2018.
• Warming and oxygen depletion of the deep waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence could result in habitat loss and habitat quality degradation for Greenland Halibut. Furthermore, the arrival of three exceptionally strong cohorts of redfish (2011 to 2013) could increase interspecific competition. These ecosystem conditions are not expected to improve in the short term.
• Given the stock status indicators and ecosystem conditions, a reduction in the exploitation rate may be necessary to promote stock recovery.

This Science Advisory Report is from the meeting of February 20-21, 2019 on the Assessment of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST) Greenland Halibut. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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