Research Document 1998/142
Preliminary Results from the September 1998 Groundfish Survey in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence
By G.A. Chouinard, G.A. Poirier, D.P. Swain, T. Hurlbut, and R. Morin
Abstract
Since 1971, a standardized research vessel bottom trawl survey has been conducted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO 4T). The objective of the survey is to obtain abundance indices for the major groundfish resources in the area. This report presents the preliminary results of the 1998 survey conducted from September 4 to 25.
In general, the preliminary information indicates that the abundance of cod, American plaice and white hake in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence continues to be low. For these species, there are no signs of strong recruitment, which is essential for these stocks to recover. An unusually high proportion of the survey biomass continues to be found in the eastern portion of the southern Gulf for both cod and plaice. Winter flounder abundance appears to be in the lower range of previous estimates for this survey while yellowtail abundance appears to be at intermediate levels. Survey abundance of dogfish was the lowest seen since 1987. Water temperatures near bottom continue to be cold: the extent of bottom area with temperatures less than 1°C continues to be large.
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.
- Date modified: