Research Document - 1999/170
Scallop production areas 4 and 5 in the Bay of Fundy: Stock status update for 1999.
By S.J. Smith, M.J. Lundy, and R. Claytor
Abstract
This document reports on the stock status of scallops in two scallop production areas (SPA) on the eastern side of the Bay of Fundy that were evaluated in the fall of 1999. In 1998, the fishing season in scallop production area 4 (SPA 4) ran from 22 September to 22 December with total landings of 103 t against a TAC of 120 t. Preliminary reports from the 1999 fishery which opened on 1 October, are that only 32.5 t have been landed as of 13 November compared to 90.7 t landed by this date last year. The fishing industry has reported that bad weather has reduced opportunity to fish. A large part of the effort in 1998 was targeted on the deeper waters off of Centreville to Digby Gut which previous research surveys had shown to be areas of high density but low yield. The survey continues to show that the greatest concentration of scallops in SPA 4 were in the deeper water off of Centreville to Digby Gut. However, densities were much reduced compared to previous years. There were no strong signs of recruitment in the survey. Estimates of exploitation rate either from commercial catch rate data or the survey data indicate that fishing mortality has increased by over 50 percent from 1996 to 1998. Forecasts for the year 2000 from the population model using the survey data, suggest that in the absence of fishing, recruitment will not balance the losses due to natural mortality and as a consequence there is no surplus production and the population is in decline. This decline will continue unless recruitment increases in the near future. Estimates of population biomass are uncertain and it is difficult to determine what proportion of the population is being taken by the fishery. In 1996 the area inside of 1 mile from shore in SPA 4 was closed to scallop fishing due to concerns of the lobster fishermen and has remained closed to date. In 1999 commercial fishermen on the Inshore Scallop Advisory Committee proposed that this area be reopened for a limited time during January/February when lobster gear are not in the water. Three exploratory surveys of the different parts of the area have been conducted each year since 1997. None of the surveys detected substantial recruitment. While the survey catch rates were judged to be adequate for fishery operations, the resource may be quite patchy. An exploratory winter fishery for a limited time period with meat weight sampling and real time monitoring of catch-rates may provide needed data on the size composition and extent of scallops in the inshore zone. The 1999 SPA 5 (Annapolis Basin) fishery opened on 2 January and closed 13 January when the quota had been caught. Landings in 1998 and 1999 were double those reported in the previous two years. The mean number per tow from the 1999 survey was higher than that observed for 1998. Meat weights-at-shell height have significantly increased in June 1999 (20 to 30 percent) over those observed in June and December 1998. The combined increase in number per tow and meat weight suggests an increase in survey biomass of 68 percent from 1998 to 1999. An increase in TAC from 10 t to 17 t could be indicated here.
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