Research Document 1997/02

Temperature conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Scotian Shelf during 1996 relevant to snow crab

By K. Drinkwater, R. Pettipas, L. Petrie, D.P. Swain

Abstract

Near-bottom temperatures during 1996 for areas inhabited by snow crab are presented, specifically for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Sydney Bight and the northeastern Scotian Shelf. Data were available from groundfish surveys in the Laurentian Channel area in January, on the Scotian Shelf in July, and in the Gulf in September. Bottom temperatures in the regions of interest were generally <3°C, conditions ideal for snow crab. Relative to the long-term means, the present temperatures are generally below normal. Time series of the area of the southern Gulf covered by temperatures <0°C and <1°C indicate that cold conditions have persisted there since the late 1980s. On Sydney Bight and on the northeastern Scotian Shelf around Misaine Bank, temperature time series at 100 m show colder-than-normal conditions since the mid-1980s. These 100 m measurements are representative of conditions for depths from 50 m to approximately 200 m.

Complete document (PDF, 952 KB)

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.