Research Document - 2001/052

Temperature conditions on the Scotian Shelf and in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2000 relevant to snow crab

By K.F. Drinkwater, R.G. Pettipas, W.M. Petrie

Abstract

Temperatures during 2000 are presented for the waters of Maritime Canada inhabited by snow crab. Data were available from a number of sources including snow crab and groundfish surveys on the Scotian Shelf and the Magdalen Shallows in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A snow crab habitat index, defined by the area of the bottom covered by waters between -1° to 3°C, was calculated for each of the southern Gulf, Sydney Bight and northeastern Scotian Shelf regions. The index in the Gulf and Shelf regions was lower than normal and declined from 1999 values. In the Gulf the index was the lowest since 1980 and the second lowest in the 30-yr record while on the Shelf it was the lowest since 1984 and the fourth lowest in its 29-yr record. On Sydney Bight the habitat index increased slightly over 1999 and was slightly above its long-term mean. Bottom temperatures within the snow crab fishing areas of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and the northeastern Scotian Shelf were generally warmer-than-average in 2000, which was above 1999 temperatures and the cold conditions during most of the past 15 years. In the central Magdalen Shallows, while mean temperatures were up slightly, the amount of waters <0ºC also increased. The crabs caught during the annual snow crab surveys were found in warmer waters in 2000 than in previous years, which is believed to reflect in large part the availability of warmer temperatures.

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