Research Document - 2001/057
2001 evaluation of 4VWX herring
By Power, M.J., R.L. Stephenson, G.D. Melvin, and F.J. Fife
Abstract
Fishery, sampling, acoustic surveys and research results were compiled and used to evaluate the status of herring in the NAFO Division 4VWX area. Spawning stock biomass (SSB) was estimated from acoustic surveys of spawning grounds to be about 463,000t, similar to the previous three years. Age composition has expanded in recent years but the population contains a small fraction of fish older than the 1992 year-class (age 8). Juvenile herring dominated the fishery in 2000 at age 2. The 1995 year-class (age 5) was also prevalent. Larger amounts of spawning fish were documented in Scots Bay but fewer herring were recorded on German Bank and on Trinity Ledge spawning areas than in recent years. Spawning was again absent on the Seal Island grounds.
The 2000 herring fishery on the Scotian Shelf banks landed 2,182t, the lowest in the recent five years of fishing. Catches were primarily in June and on 'The Patch'. The July bottom trawl survey, with the last 3 years the highest on record, continued to indicate a general high abundance and widespread distribution of herring on the banks west of Sable Island.
Changes to management and recent research efforts have improved the knowledge of the fishery in four coastal Nova Scotia spawning areas, but there remains a problem of a lack of biological and fishery information for much of this component. There is continued concern for the status of the Bras d'Or Lakes spawning herring.
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