Estimating Recruitment Biomass and Yield of Snow Crab in 2J3KLPs and 4R

Description

Research on molting and growth will help improve snow crab harvest management, especially in the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) shelf study area, which appears to be transitioning from an ecosystem dominated by shellfish to one dominated by groundfish. Currently, the valuable Snow Crab commercial fisheries are managed for sustainable yields by avoiding the harvest of soft-shell (adolescent) crabs. Biologist Darrell Mullowney of the North Atlantic Fisheries Centre in St. John’s, NL, and his team are working with harvesters to collect samples of adolescent Snow Crab (40-110 mm) in small mesh pots. The data about the capture of small crab of both sexes and from new areas and depth strata will be used to understand distribution and demographics of the region’s Snow Crab and to create a reliable recruitment index for Snow Crab for use in all crab management areas. Workshops with industry will review the recruitment and yield research and assist the industry to understand current and future Snow Crab biomass (meat yield). A peer-reviewed research report will be published by DFO’s Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat and the research will be published in scientific literature.

Program Name

Fisheries Science Collaborative Program (FSCP)

Year(s)

2017 - 2019

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic

Principal Investigator(s)

Darrell Mullowney
Biologist, Shellfish Section, DFO NL

Co-leader(s)

Erin Carruthers
Fisheries Scientist, Fish Food and Allied Workers Union | Unifor