Research Document - 2002/068

Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence Shrimp (Pandalus Borealis) Stock Assessment for the 1990-2001 Period

By Louise Savard, Hugues Bouchard and Hugo Bourdages

Abstract

Overall, the research survey indices show that the shrimp biomass was very high in 2000 and diminished in 2001, moving closer to the mean observed during the 1990-1999 period. Abundance of females decreased in 2001 but is comparable to observations in 1998 and 1999. Not all individuals of the 1997 year-class appear to have changed sex in spring 2001: a certain proportion has remained male. Commercial catch rates were slightly down in the Sept-Îles and Anticosti areas in 2001, but still above the mean for 1990-1999. Exploitation rate indices rose, but are comparable to the mean for 1990-1999.

The 2002 fishery will mainly involve the 1997 and 1998 year-classes. The 1997 year-class, which seemed very abundant in commercial and survey catches in 1999 and 2000, produced no substantial increase in commercial catch rates and biomass estimates in 2001. Many individuals remained male in 2001 and should be available to the fishery as females in 2002. However, those that changed sex in 2001 have produced smaller females. The 1998 year-class was weakly represented in the survey and commercial fishery catches, and so no substantial increase in the fishery and survey indices is expected in 2002. Males from the 1999 year-class were a strong presence in fishery and survey catches in 2001. However, they will not change sex and should not contribute to any significant increase in the size of the shrimp taken in 2002.

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