Science Advisory Report  2015/032

Assessment of Quebec coastal waters whelks stocks in 2014

Summary

• In 2014, whelk landings totalled 951 t in Quebec. A total of 87% of these landings were from the North Shore, 12% from the Gaspé Peninsula–Lower St. Lawrence and 2% from the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Landings decreased in most fishing areas compared to 2011, and total allowable catches (TACs), when present, were not attained.
• In 2013 and 2014, the CPUE was above the reference average (from the 2001-2013 period) in Areas 1, 4 and 13, near average in Areas 2, 5, 6 and 8 and below average in Areas 3, 7, 12 and 15. In the latter four areas, the CPUE measured in 2014 was one of the lowest since 2001.
• Since 2011, average sizes have been fairly stable in all areas. In 2014 landings, the proportion of whelk smaller than the minimum legal size of 70 mm was less than 4%, except in areas 1 (10%) and 8 (19%). According to our data, the average size at which 50% of females are mature varies from 65 to 80 mm depending on the area. Harvesting immature individuals should be avoided.
• Area 10 is not fished, and fishing effort has been sporadic and low in Areas 9, 11 and 14. It is therefore impossible to comment on the status of the resource in these areas.
• In the period from 2012 to 2014, stock status indicators (CPUE and size structure) showed a positive trend in Areas 1, 4 and 13, were stable in Areas 2, 5, 6 and 8 and decreased in Areas 3 and 7. In Areas 12 and 15, the 2014 CPUE was very low. The considerable drop in CPUE in Area 15 was not anticipated given the performance of the fishery in 2013 and could be related to the atypical environmental conditions in summer 2014.
• In Areas 3, 4, 5, 8, 12 and 13, the number of traps used in 2014 was between 20 and 41% of the authorized number of traps under the current management measures. These various stocks may not be able to support the deployment of latent effort, especially in areas that are already fished in entirety.

This science advisory report is from the March 10, 2015, meeting on the Assessment of the whelk fishery in the Quebec’s inshore waters. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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