2000 evaluation of 4VWX herring / Stephenson, R.L. … [et al.].: Fs70-1/2000-065E-PDF

Fishery, sampling and research results were compiled and used to evaluate the status of herring in the 4VWX area. Spawning stock biomass (SSB) was estimated from acoustic surveys of spawning grounds to be about 500,000 t, similar to the previous two years. Age composition has expanded in recent years but the population still contains a small fraction of fish older than the 1992 year-class. Large amounts of spawning fish were documented on German Bank but fewer herring were recorded in Scots Bay and on Trinity Ledge spawning areas than in recent years and spawning was again absent on the Seal Island grounds. The 1999 herring fishery on the Scotian Shelf Banks landed 12,840 t, higher than in 1998 but lower than in 1997. The July bottom trawl survey continued to indicate a general increase in abundance and widespread distribution of herring on the banks west of Sable Island. Herring were also prevalent in the Cuban silver hake fishery which took place on the shelf edge. Changes to management and recent research efforts have improved the knowledge of the fishery in four of the south coastal Nova Scotia spawning areas, but there remains a problem of lack of biological and fishery information for much of this component. There is continued concern for the status of the Bras d'Or Lakes spawning herring. Landings from the traditional New Brunswick weir and shutoff fishery were lower than long-term average. These fish are considered to be a mixture originating primarily from Subarea 5.

Permanent link to this Catalogue record:
publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.805891&sl=0

• MARC XML format
• MARC HTML format

Request alternate formats