Research Document - 1999/199

Flatfish Stock Assessments for the west coast of Canada for 1999 and Recommended Yield Options for 2000.

By J. Fargo

Abstract

Interim assessments were prepared for important stocks of flatfish caught in the B.C. trawl fishery. A summary of landing statistics including the observations from the 1997 fishery is presented for all of these. New data was available for only two stocks, Hecate Strait rock sole and Hecate Strait English sole. The catch-age analyses for those two stocks have been updated. There is no change in any of the yield recommendations from last year.

Landings for Area 3C-D and 5C-E Dover sole increased in 1998. Landings for the 3C-D stock were near the low end of the recommended yield range identified last year while 1998 landings for the 5C-E stock were near the upper limit of the recommended yield range identified last year.

Rock sole biomass in Areas 5C-D in 1998 declined slightly from 1997 but remains above the long-term average for the last 50 years. The estimate of fishing mortality for the stock in 1998, was F =0.13, below F_0.1 (F=0.22). With fixed exploitation at this level there is a 0.91 probability that the stock will maintain its spawning biomass and ensure the recruitment necessary to sustain itself in the future.

English sole biomass in Areas 5C-D in 1998 declined from 1997 to a level near the long-term average for the last 50 years. The estimate of fishing mortality for the stock in 1998 was F=0.16, below F_0.1 (F=0.25). With fixed exploitation at this level there is a 0.88 probability that the stock will maintain its spawning biomass and ensure the recruitment necessary to sustain itself in the future.

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