Assessment of 2013 and 2014 lobster cohort abundance in a natural nursery and on an artificial reef in Baie de Plaisance in the Magdalen Islands

Description

The purpose of the project is to make medium-term forecasts (eight to nine years) of lobster recruitment ^{Footnote 1} in the Magdalen Islands.

• In September, a group of four divers will sample lobsters in a natural nursery (Les Demoiselles) and on artificial reefs located in Baie de Plaisance. This sampling will be used to assess the abundance of new lobster cohorts (individuals born in the same year) that settle on the bottom. Lobsters in the nursery range in age from a few weeks to approximately three years.
• Abundance data for lobsters that have settled on the bottom during the current year will also be obtained using benthic collectors set up near the nursery. This aspect of the project will assess a new sampling technique for young lobsters.
• The long time series of data (the project began in the late 1990s) will enable us to examine the link between the abundance of cohorts (aged 0 and 1 year) and the conservation measures put in place to increase egg and larvae production, as well as to study the role that local hydrodynamics play in determining the size of lobster cohorts. We will also examine whether large cohorts will result in high recruitment to the fishery eight to nine years later.
• This project will improve our knowledge of ecosystem dynamics and the ecosystem's influence on lobster status and productivity in the Magdalen Islands, which will then guide decisions on the conservation of this valuable fishery resource.

Program Name

Fisheries Science Collaborative Program (FSCP)

Year(s)

2011 - 2015

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic: Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Estuary

Principal Investigator(s)

Louise Gendron
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Co-Leader(s)

Léonard Poirier
Association des pêcheurs propriétaires des Îles-de-la-Madeleine (APPIM)