NAFO Divisions 3KLPs Lobster Sampling and Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)
Description
Total reports of lobster landings for Newfoundland have remained relatively stable since the 1960s. As the graph above shows, from 2003 to 2013, reported landings gradually declined in NAFO Division 3K and remained fairly steady in Division 3L. In Division 3Ps, reported landings gradually increased until 2010, then declined in 2011 before increasing to 2013M
Credit: DFO
To date, there has been little verified data available for the commercial lobster fishery in NAFO Footnote 1 Divisions 3KLPs off the east and south coasts of Newfoundland. The lobster stock in Division 3P is one of the main drivers of Newfoundland and Labrador’s lobster fishery, particularly Lobster Fishing Area 11 where reported landings have increased from 15 percent of the province’s total in the early 1990s to 45 percent of the total in the last three years (2011–2013). To provide the data necessary for evaluating fishery performance and assessing the status of the American Lobster stock in Divisions 3KLPs, this project will implement a scientifically sound at-sea sampling program for lobster fisheries in these areas, along with a program to collect biological and catch and effort data from harvesters’ logbooks.
Repeated sampling will be carried out aboard boats representing at least 20 to 25 percent of the license holders in each area to ensure good coverage of the fishing area throughout the season. Some modified traps will also be used by harvesters to prevent the escape of undersized lobster in order to gather a large amount of biological data such as lobster size and sex, as well as the presence of eggs and v-notched females (egg-bearing females marked to prevent their harvest). Bottom temperatures will be collected wherever possible. Other goals include developing a reliable recruitment Footnote 2 index and providing analysis of the data to the regional assessment process.
Program Name
Fisheries Science Collaborative Program (FSCP)
Year(s)
2004 - Present
Ecoregion(s)
Atlantic: Newfoundland, Labrador Shelves
Principal Investigator(s)
Donald Stansbury
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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