Research Document - 2001/017

Assessment of the 2000 snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery off eastern Nova Scotia (Areas 20 to 24).

By Biron, M., L.Savoie, R. Campbell, E. Wade, M. Moriyasu and R. Gautreau

Abstract

Overall, fishery-related indices such as CPUEs have increased in all areas and sub-areas compared to 1999. There are however important considerations to be made before interpreting the 2000 fishery-related data and indices. The magnitude of certain increases in CPUEs or decrease in effort in 2000 should be considered 'inflated' by factors such as gear type, soak time, fishing season and pattern, seasonal movement, and may be even by the mobile gear fishery. Any attempts to compare this data with historical data, especially data before the mid-1990s, should only be done to illustrate how much these ENS fisheries have changed in recent years. Landings in ENS passed from the average 1,500 t in 1994-96 to 2,250 t in 1998, 3,600 t in 1999 and 9,765 t in 2000.

Estimates of the minimum trawlable biomass from the trawl survey realized before the snow crab fishery in 2000 were 2,926 t for the northern region (CFAs 20 to 22) and 28,939 t for the southern region (CFAs 23 and 24). Trawl survey data clearly indicates that recruitment to these fisheries has been consistently decreasing since 1997. There is also an indication that the biomass of adult males ?95 mm have peaked in the 1997-1999 period. There should be no doubt, that from a global perspective, the adult snow crab segment of the population in both northern and southern ENS is on a decreasing trend. Indications of the decrease in adult male concentrations can also be drawn from the at-sea observer data. Both northern and southern ENS stock should be managed with the decreasing trend of commercial adult snow crab in perspective for the incoming years.

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