Research Document - 2003/078

Preliminary results from the groundfish and shrimp multidisciplinary survey from August 2003 in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence

By Bourdages, H., Archambault, D., Morin, B., Fréchet, A.,
Savard, L., Grégoire, F. and Bérubé, M.

Abstract

In 2003, the multidisciplinary groundfish and shrimp survey in the northern Gulf occurred from August 1st to the 31st. A total of 205 fishing tows were carried out during the mission, of which 196 were successful, representing 78 % of the initial 250 tow objective.

The initial results from biomass and abundance indexes, from length frequency distribution, and from catch rate distribution, are presented for 13 species, including the four species targeted by the survey (cod, Greenland halibut, redfish, and shrimp). The 2003 results are compared to the results from previous years in order to show trends observed over the 14 year period. However, the 2003 results are preliminary and must be treated accordingly until laboratory analysis and data validation have been completed.

According to preliminary results, the biomass indexes for many species, such as cod, turbot, shrimp, Atlantic halibut, capelin (dispersal index), thorny skate, white hake, witch flounder and American plaice, indicated a increase and in some cases, the highest levels of the 1990-2003 period were reached, while others species had low biomass index levels in 2002. For other species, such as redfish, black dogfish, and longfin hake, the biomass index remained stable compared to previous years.  Finally, a general increase in the number of catches for most of the species analyzed in this study was observed for the entire area covered by the survey.

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