Research Document 1998/21
The status of Redfish in Unit 2 (Laurentian Channel Management Unit)
By D. Power and D. B. Atkinson
Abstract
The implementation of this new management unit in 1993 caused a change in fishing pattern from that generally in place under the former 3P, 4RST and 4VWX units. Seasonal closures and a small fish protocol have also impacted fishing pattern, however harvesters consider that fisheries over the past three years have been successful. Catches have declined from 27,000 metric tons in 1993 to 9,000 metric tons in 1997 closely matching reductions in TACs over the same period. Summer DFO research surveys indicate that stock size remained stable between 1995 and 1997. This survey was not conducted in 1998. Industry surveys in 1997-1998 also suggest stability in the resource. Current commercial catches are composed primarily of the early 1980s year-class(es). The next anticipated pulse of recruitment (the 1988 year-class) is now becoming increasingly vulnerable to the fishery. Its contribution to the fishable stock will be less than that of the year-class(es) of the early 1980s, which have dominated the fishery for eight to nine years. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the absolute size of this stock nor to estimate fishing mortalities for the past. The ratio of catch to estimated exploitable biomass index derived from recent surveys suggests that relative exploitation has been about 6% and that a catch of 11,000 t in 1998 is not likely to be higher than the catch associated with fishing at F0.1. A pulse of recruitment was observed in the 1997 DFO survey but will require a few years of monitoring before its relative strength can be related to other year classes comprising the commercial fishery.
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