Research Document 1997/103
Update on the Status of Unit 3 redfish: 1997
By R. Branton
Abstract
The document summarizes commercial fishery and research survey data for Unit 3 (4Wdehkl and 4X) redfish from August 1996 to July 1997. Total landings for 1996 were slightly less than for the previous two years, and well below the TAC. The 1997 landings (to July) were somewhat more than for the same time period in 1996. Almost all of the catch was taken by small otter trawlers (less than 65 feet) fishing in the basins and at the shelf edge. Redfish fishing operations using small mesh gear during the period were constrained by management initiatives to avoid the capture of small redfish and bycatch of other groundfish species as well as conflicts with fixed gear. Present biomass as judged from the 1997 survey is not greatly different than average since the late 1980s however there continues to be increased numbers of small redfish particularly in the area north and east of Brown's Bank. However, it is not clear as to what extent this recruitment will increase exploitable biomass and hence improve fishing success, therefore when combined with the low exploitation rates, which currently prevail, should result in fishing and stock conditions in 1998 being very much the same as in recent years.
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