Atlantic Fisheries Research Document 1996/065
Condition of cod in Divisions 2J+3KL during the autumns of 1978-1995
By G.R. Lilly
Abstract
The condition of cod in Divisions 2J+3KL was monitored by sampling catches during autumn research assessment surveys in the offshore in 1978-1995 and the sentinel survey in the inshore during summer-autumn 1995. In the offshore, the condition of cod in Divisions 2J and 3K recovered from low levels in 1991-1992 to moderate levels in 1993-1995. Preliminary analysis revealed that sampling has varied spatially within Divisions over time, and that there is spatial heterogeneity in condition within Divisions. Thus, some of the variability observed in the time-series of cod condition may be related to the sampling itself. When liver index data are aggregated into groups defined by aggregations of cod rather than Division boundaries, the contrast between patterns in the north and patterns in the south become more apparent; of considerable interest is an increase in liver index on the plateau of Grand Bank at the time that liver index declined rapidly in Division 2J. Condition of cod inshore in 1995 increased considerably over time at one site which was monitored during July-August. Condition at 14 other sites, each of which was monitored only 1-3 times in September-October, was highly variable, but generally good.
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