Research Document - 2014/056
2013 Evaluation of Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Divisions 4VWX Herring
By R. Singh, D. Knox, M.J. Power, A. MacIntyre, and G.D. Melvin
Abstract
The 2011 evaluation of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization divisions 4VWX herring considered the data from the 2009-2010 quota year. The 2013 evaluation evaluates the data from the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 quota years. Quota landings of Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) in 2010-2011 were 50,010t and in 2011-2012 were 47,614t against a Total Allowable Catch of 50,000t for each quota year for the Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy component. Acoustic biomass estimates increased by 44% in 2011 followed by a further 6% increase in 2012 for the major spawning ground survey areas in Scots Bay and on German Bank. Most of this increase occurred in Scots Bay. In 2011, the fishery catch at age composition by number was comprised of 12% fish at age 2, 46% fish at age 3, 22% at age 4, and 9% at ages older than age 5. In 2012, the fishery catch at age composition by number was comprised of 25% fish at age 2, 13% at age 3 years of age, 27% at age 4, and 15% at ages older than age 5. The lack of widespread distribution of 2 year olds and their absence from the weirs is a cause for concern about the expected numbers of 3 year olds in 2013.
Landings from the Offshore Scotian Shelf decreased from 11,862t in 2010 to 10,455t in 2011 and to 1,210t in 2012. There was no midwater trawl activity in the offshore area and only limited by-catch of herring from bottom trawl gear. No acoustic survey was completed for the offshore area in 2011 or 2012. Herring abundance in the 2011 summer bottom trawl research vessel survey decreased from the 2010 high level for all areas except the Bay of Fundy. In 2012, herring abundance fluctuated with some areas decreasing and other areas increasing. This survey has not been considered indicative of overall abundance due to changes in catchability for herring and a lack of year-class tracking.
The recorded landings in the gillnet and trap net fisheries along the coast of Nova Scotia decreased from 5,575t in 2010 to 3,606t in 2011 and to 3,007t in 2012. There were decreases in surveyed acoustic biomass in the Halifax/Eastern Shore area from the 27,000t in 2010 to 5,498t in 2011 and to 3,668t in 2012. In the Little Hope area, there was an increase in the acoustic biomass estimate in 2011 to 28,796t from the 26,700t in 2010, followed by a large decrease to 12,756t in 2012. Only one survey was completed near Glace Bay in 2011 (51t) and none in 2012. No catch was reported in 2011 and very little catch reported in 2012 (7t). No herring surveys took place in the Bras d’Or Lakes.
Landings in the New Brunswick weir and shut-off fishery were 10,958t in 2010. Landings decreased to 3,711t in 2011 and further decreased to a historic low of 504t in 2012. In 2007 landings were 30,944t, the highest in nearly 20 years. The age distribution of fish caught in the 2011 and 2012 New Brunswick weir and shutoff fishery were primarily juveniles, with 71% and 95% by numbers at age 2 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The success of this passive trap fishery has been historically unpredictable, and catches are inherently susceptible to many natural variables in addition to abundance.
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