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Research Document - 2000/078

Preliminary estimates of harp seal by-catch in the Newfoundland lumpfish fishery.

By D. Walsh, B. Sjare, and G.B. Stenson

Abstract

The incidental by-catch of marine mammal species in fishing gear is a worldwide phenomenon of major conservation concern. Although the waters of Newfoundland have been intensively fished and the by-catch of marine mammals may be substantial, little effort has gone into quantifying the magnitude of the take. What information is available focuses primarily on entrapments of large cetaceans while small cetaceans and seals are under-reported or not reported at all. This research document presents preliminary estimates of the number of harp seals taken as by-catch in the Newfoundland lumpfish gill net fishery from 1970 - 1998. Estimates of fishing effort (the amount of roe landed) and the number of seals taken annually were obtained from a By-Catch Logbook Program conducted by fishermen from 1989 - 1998 in Newfoundland waters. Prior to 1989, annual seal by-catches were estimated using historic roe landings and average by-catch levels based on the Logbook Program. From the start of the commercial fishery in 1968 until 1984 the by-catch of harp seals remained below 10,000 animals. During the next three years it increased dramatically to a high of approximately 30,000 seals in 1987 and then dropped sharply to just below 3,000 by 1990. It then increased again to a high of approximately 36,000 seals in 1994 and then dropped to 17,000 in 1995 where it has remained. These estimates of the number of harp seals taken during the lumpfish gill net fishery provide a long term view of by-catch as a source of mortality for harp seals and also provide the basis for future by-catch work and population modeling initiatives.

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