Research Document - 2001/118
Geographic distribution of selected marine fish in September in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence based on annual bottom-trawl surveys
By D.P. Swain and H.P. Benoît
Abstract
Exploration for oil and gas has been proposed for the southern Gulf of St Lawrence between Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island (in Canadian Statistical Unit 4Tg). This paper provides background information on the geographic distribution of selected marine fish species in the southern Gulf in September, based on bottom-trawl surveys conducted each year since 1971. All of the species considered have been captured in the annual surveys in the vicinity of the proposed exploration area - Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), white hake (Urophycis tenuis), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), redfish (Sebastes sp.), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), long-horned sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus), Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus), thorny skate (Raja radiata), winter skate (Raja ocellata) and smooth skate (Raja senta). Overall, the total fish biomass has decreased in the southern Gulf since the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting decreases in many of the important commercial species. Both the size and number of high biomass areas have decreased, with the most prominent declines occurring in the central and western portions of the survey area. The relative importance of the eastern portion of the survey area has increased over this time period for species such cod, plaice, white hake, witch flounder, herring and thorny skate. The areas between Cape Breton Island and the Magdelan Islands, between Cape Breton and P.E.I., and the northeastern tip of P.E.I. figure among the remaining higher biomass areas for some of these species and for the total biomass of fish caught during the surveys.
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