Research Document - 2000/115

État des stocks de homard des eaux côtières du Québec en 1999 et suivi des impacts de l'augmentation de la taille minimale de capture.

By L. Gendron and G. Savard

Abstract

Québec lobster landings reached 2921 t in 1999, compared with 3049 t in 1998 and 2825 t in 1997. They have been declining since the early 1990s. For the last three years, landings in the Magdalen Islands have remained stable at about 1900 t, but are 34% below their 1992 peak. Gaspé landings were about 950 t, roughly the same as in 1998, and above the mean of the last 14 years (695 t). Landings on the North Shore dropped to 32 t and those of Anticosti Island to 89 t.

In 1999, for the Magdalen Islands as a whole, catch rates held steady at 1998 levels, although on the north side they have been dropping constantly since 1992. In 1999, in the Gaspé, in LFAs 20A and 20B, catch rates were equivalent to those of 1998 and above the mean for the last 15 years. Catch rates in LFA 21 and on the North Shore (LFAs 15 and 16) remained stable in 1999, but were only half to a third of those in LFAs 20A and 20B. We have no figures on catch rates for LFAs 17 (Anticosti), 18 (North Shore) and 19 (Northern Gaspé).

In 1999, as a result of the increase in the minimum legal size, the mean size of lobster caught was about 3 mm longer than in 1996 in the Magdalen Islands and the Gaspé and about 2 mm longer on the North Shore. Exploitation rates remained high in the Magdalen Islands (about 70%), the Gaspé (about 75%) and probably on the North Shore, as well. They have been increasing since 1985, highlighting the fishery's dependency on annual recruitment. The exploitation rate was lower on Anticosti Island (about 20%). Since the legal size limit was raised 3 mm, computer modelling suggests that E/R has increased 26% in the Magdalen Islands and 40% in the Gaspé over 1996 levels. The goal is a 100% increase.

Recruitment indices were up in the Magdalen Islands and in the Gaspé, which suggests that landings in 2000 could be comparable to those of 1999. However, precision of the recruitment indices still needs to be improved, to increase the reliability of the predictions.

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