Research Document - 2003/090
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the west coast of Newfoundland
(NAFO Division 4R) in 2002
By Grégoire, F., Lefebvre, L., Guérin, J.,
Hudon, J. and Lavers, J.
Abstract
The 2002 herring landings (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the West coast of Newfoundland amounted to 12,258 t, representing 82% of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The most significant landings were recorded in unit area 4Rc, with 7,267 t. The large seiners alone unloaded 8,391 t of herring, compared to 3,383 t for the small seiners, and 464 t for fishermen using gillnet. The catch-at-age of spring spawners was dominated by the year-class of 1996, with 28,3% of all the catches, and that of the fall spawners, by the year-class of 1998, with 40,0% of the catches. The condition (index of Fulton) of the spring and fall spawners continued to improve so that the values measured in 2002 were the highest of the historical series. Almost all the herrings of 4 years old and more were mature and, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, sexual maturity is now reached earlier, in particular for the spring spawners. Herring is generally caught in the whole sampling area covered by the annual scientific surveys made to assess groundfish and shrimp (Pandalus borealis) abundance in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. During these surveys, the most significant herring catches were observed in the area of Anticosti, on the lower North Shore of Quebec, and on the West coast of Newfoundland.
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