Science Advisory Report 2018/015

Assessment of Northern Shrimp stocks in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017

Summary

• In 2017, preliminary landings for all shrimp fishing areas were 22,431 t from a TAC of 26,732 t, a decrease of 26% since 2015. TACs were not reached in Sept-Iles and Anticosti areas.
• The standardized commercial fishery catch rate has been decreasing in the four fishing areas, reaching values in 2017 that are comparable to those observed at the beginning of the 2000s.
• The DFO research survey biomass index and abundance indices for males and females have been declining. Biomass and abundances in 2017 are close to the low values observed in the early 1990s.
• Juvenile abundance was low in 2016 and 2017 in all areas.
• Northern shrimp is still widely distributed in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, but since 2008 the DFO survey has shown a decline in the area of shrimp concentrations. This is also observed in the fishery, as some traditional fishing grounds have been abandoned because of the low abundance of shrimp.
• Warming water and increasing predation by redfish appear to be important factors in the decline of northern shrimp. These conditions are not expected to improve in the short term.
• In 2017, according to the precautionary approach for northern shrimp, the Estuary and Sept-Iles stocks were in the cautious zone whereas Anticosti and Esquiman stocks were still in the healthy zone but close to the cautious zone.
• Following the harvest guidelines established as part of to the precautionary approach, the projected harvest for 2018 is 239 t for Estuary, 4,267 t for Sept-Iles, 5,722 t for Anticosti and 5,508 t for Esquiman.
• The outlook for the status of northern shrimp stocks in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is poor given the low recruitment, the warming water and the increasing predation by redfish. In the short term, the downward trend in these stocks is expected to continue.

This Science Advisory Report is from the January 23, 2018 meeting on Assessment of northern shrimp stocks in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. 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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