Research Document - 2003/006

Preliminary Results from the September 2002 Bottom-trawl Survey of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

By T. Hurlbut, G.A. Poirier, D.P. Swain, H.P. Benoît, G.A. Chouinard and C. LeBlanc

Abstract

Since 1971, a standardized research vessel bottom-trawl survey has been conducted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO Division 4T). The primary objective of the survey is to obtain abundance indices for the major groundfish resources in the area. This report presents the preliminary results of the 2002 survey conducted from September 3 to 27.

Two large catches of cod near the edge of the Laurentian Channel have a large influence on the results of the 2002 survey for cod. When these two catches are included in the abundance index, the mean number of cod per tow for all ages in 2002 increases relative to the 1992-2000 period. However, when the four sets in this stratum are excluded from the analysis, the abundance index is similar to previous years but the biomass index declines. The 2002 abundance and biomass indices are low compared to the levels in the 1980s, even including these tows. The indices of abundance and biomass for white hake declined to their lowest levels in the history of this survey, reaching levels lower than that observed when the directed fishery was closed in 1995. The abundance of American plaice has continued to decline and is at the lowest level observed in the history of this survey. An increase in the abundance of witch flounder was noted and the abundance of yellowtail and winter flounder remained largely unchanged relative to previous years. Bottom temperatures were relatively warm for the fourth consecutive year in relation to the cold period that persisted throughout the 1990s.

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