Research Document - 2001/116
The seasonal distribution of selected marine fish in the southeastern Gulf of St. Lawrence based on bottom-trawl surveys
By T. Hurlbut and B. Hugues
Abstract
Data from six bottom-trawl surveys conducted in the southeastern Gulf of St. Lawrence between September 1986 and September 1987 were used to describe the seasonal distribution of sixteen species of marine fish. Spiny dogfish, Atlantic cod, Atlantic herring and possibly white hake, thorny skate and witch flounder undertook extensive migrations and over-wintered outside the southeastern Gulf. American plaice, yellowtail flounder and winter skate migrated from shallow water to deeper, warmer water in the winter. Winter flounder, longhorn sculpins, smooth skate and redfish exhibited only localized movements. The latter two species remained in the deep water of the Laurentian Channel, and the former two remained in shallow water throughout the year, tolerating a wide range of temperatures. Atlantic halibut and Atlantic wolffish were caught infrequently over the course of the seasonal surveys but the changes in their distribution suggested a seasonal migration to deeper, warmer over-wintering areas. Turbot were rarely caught during the seasonal surveys and their seasonal movements could not be described.
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