Stock Status Report 2004/021

Scallops of the inshore waters of Quebec’s North Shore in 2003

Summary

Scallops generally spawn in late summer, and the juveniles settle on the seabed in the fall. Meat yield (weight) varies over the reproductive cycle and is lowest during the spawning season. Subsequently, during the settlement period, the juveniles are very sensitive to any disturbance of the sediment by fishing gear. For these reasons, it is recommended that scallop beds not be dragged during the period from August to November.

In 2003, Quebec scallop landings totalled 157.1 t of meat, up 4.4% over 2002; 74% of landings came from the North Shore sector, at 116.8 t, up 14% over the level recorded a year earlier.

16E

• The landings and CPUEs recorded since 1998 have been stable and show that the stock can support the present level of exploitation. Based on current knowledge, it is recommended that the TAC be maintained at the 2003 level. The present scientific advice, which has been prepared in response to a request from Fisheries Management sector to evaluate the effect of allowing two additional scallopers to participate in the fishery, indicates that this would require that all the individual quotas be reduced so as to maintain the exploitation rate at the 2003 level.

16F

• Landings have been fairly steady since 1996, and the CPUE estimated from logbook data is comparable to that seen over the past four years, which suggests that the main scallop bed is capable of sustaining the present exploitation level. Consequently, we recommend that there be no increase in fishing effort on the main bed.

18A

• In 2003, the low landings and low fishing effort did not help to reverse the downtrend in yields. In spite of this, it is recommended that the TAC be maintained at the 2003 level.

15, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16G, 16H, 18D

• There are few active fishers in areas 15, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16G, 16H and 18D, and fishing effort is not very high and varies from year to year. Based on the commercial indices there are no major changes to report for these areas from previous years. Nonetheless, the information available is incomplete, thus precluding an assessment of the state of the resource.

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