Research Document - 2002/033

Status of NAFO Division 4T winter flounder, February 2002)

By R. Morin, I. Forest, H. Benoit

Abstract

Landings of winter flounder in NAFO 4T totalled 570 and 571 tonnes in 2000 and 2001, the lowest catch level in most of the previous two decades. Landings have been relatively stable at about 600 tonnes since 1998. Most of the decline in landings during the 1990s may be accounted for by reductions in fishing effort, particularly by trawlers. The TAC for winter flounder has been 1000 tonnes since 1996. Otter trawls have been the dominant gear used in the fishery since 1960, although gillnets have gained in importance since the mid-1980s. By 1997, gillnets were contributing 47% of the landed catch, but since 2000 their landed catch represents about a quarter of the total. Commercial catch rates were calculated using a group of trawlers that have been active in unit area 4Tg since 1991. This analysis indicates that catch rates have increased steadily since a low point in 1998, in spite of an increase in the minimum mesh size in 2000. In yearly telephone surveys, harvesters have tended to view the status of this resource favorably. In 2000 and 2001, the dominant view of the respondents was that the resource was at the same level of abundance as in the previous year. Research survey data indicate that in the whole of the southern Gulf, winter flounder abundance over the past three years is at a level comparable to the average since 1971. Winter flounder in 4T probably comprise several stock units. The survey data indicate that there are regional differences in abundance trends. The regional trends in abundance differ from the commercial catch rates in 4Tg and an inshore survey that has been conducted on the Magdalen Islands since 1999. The size and average weight of winter flounder in the annual survey have declined since 1971, but they appear to have levelled off in recent years. Fishing mortality since 1999 appears to be below the average observed since 1983.

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