Research Document - 2014/075

Results of the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program-Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) surveys conducted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2012 and 2013

By François Grégoire, Linda Girard and Mélanie Boudreau

Abstract

This document presents the results of the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP)-Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) surveys conducted in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2012 and 2013. Egg densities per station ranged from 0.0 to 113.7 eggs/m² in 2012 and from 0.0 to 436.2 eggs/m² in 2013. The highest egg densities were measured at the stations located in the western portion of the sampling area and in St. Georges Bay in Nova Scotia. Daily egg productions were estimated at 2.64 x 1011 and 1.50 x 1012 eggs in 2012 and 2013 for annual or total productions of 8.67 x 1012 and 4.00 x 1013 eggs. The relative index of abundance or spawning biomass was estimated at 14,568 t in 2012 and 68,547 t in 2013. This index has significantly decline from the mid-1990s and despite a slight increase in 2013, all the values calculated since 2005 remain among the lowest of the historical series.

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