Atlantic Fisheries Research Document 1996/037
A preliminary look at conservation factors for the offshore clam fishery
By D. Roddick
Abstract
The Arctic surfclam fishery lands the clams in a processed state, Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) foot portions, which may be raw or blanched, and frozen blocks of mantle tissue. Since the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for this fishery is set in round weight, accurate factors are needed to convert landings from processed weight to round weight. Results of sample runs performed on the fishing vessels through the Observer Program are used to estimate conversion factors for raw and blanched IQF weights. This method uses the actual vessel processing line and thus provides the best estimate of these factors.
The preliminary factors, based on 13 runs of raw product and 20 of blanched are 5.38 and 6.67 respectively. Further work is needed to increase sample size and look at vessel, area and temporal variances. Examination of recent landings show that the single conversion factor of 5.5 presently being used underestimates round weight by up to 18%.
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