Research Document 1998/12

Update of discarding of cod in the shrimp and cod directed fisheries in NAFO Divisions 2J, 3K and 3L

By D.W. Kulka

Abstract

Since the 1960's, trawlers have fished the offshore banks of the Labrador and Northeast Newfoundland Shelves for cod (Gadus morhua). As well, shrimp (Pandalus sp.) have been fished in the deep channels off Newfoundland and Labrador since the late 1970's. The shrimp gear captures incidental species, including small cod that are of no commercial value to this sector. Cod, discarded from both fisheries were generally under-recorded in the fishing logs. The winter cod and shrimp directed fisheries have been observed since 1980, providing the opportunity to quantify discarding. Close to 100% of the shrimp and cod fisheries in NAFO Divs. Fishery observers have provided coverage for 2J, 3K and 3L since 1987. This analysis updates the discard series for the years 1995 and 1996. Based on the discard levels recorded from the observed fishery, this paper shows that the amount of cod discarded from the shrimp and cod directed fisheries continues to decline. Since 1992, only the shrimp fishery has been open and increasingly, an excluder device, the Nordmore grate has been used on the shrimp gear. This device effectively excludes all but the smaller fish including cod. Given the scarcity of cod and the effect of the grate, the 1995 total cod discards from the shrimp fishery were estimated at only 5.1 t (13,305 fish) in 1995 and 13.2 t (34,438 fish) in 1996, the two lowest amounts in the time series.

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