Science Advisory Report 2021/040
Assessment of Stimpson’s surfclam stocks in Quebec coastal waters in 2020
Summary
- Mean annual Stimpson’s surfclam landings in Quebec totalled 587 t from 2018 to 2020, a 8% decrease compared with the 2015-2017 period. The North Shore accounted for 99% of landings and the Magdalen Islands for 1%.
- The annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the 2018 to 2020 period averaged over 80% in areas 3A and 3B.
- There was no fishing in areas 1A and 5B in 2018 and area 2 was fished in 2018 only. There was no fishing in area 1B from 2018 to 2020 and areas 4C and 5A remain unexploited.
- The catch per unit of effort (CPUE) averages for the 2018 to 2020 period are above the time series medians (1993-2019) for area 3A, but below the series medians for areas 1A, 2, 3B, 4A, 4B and 5B.
- The 2018-2020 landed surfclam size averages are above the time series medians (1993-2019) for areas 2, 3A, 4B and 5B, but below the series medians for areas 1A, 3B and 4A.
- The zonal exploitation rate in each area based on dredged area is below the recommended rate of 3% in all fishing areas.
- According to the existing decision rules, only area 3A meets all the conditions for a 6% quota increase. For the remaining areas, a status quo quota should not affect the status of the resource.
- The fishing effort in one area should be distributed both within and among beds to limit the possibility of local overexploitation.
This Science Advisory Report is from the February 22, 2021 regional advisory meeting on the Assessment of the Stimpson’s surfclam fishery in the Quebec’s inshore waters. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.
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