Research Document - 2002/058
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the west coast of Newfoundland (NAFO Division 4R) in 2001
By François Grégoire, Louise Lefebvre and Johanne Guérin
Abstract
Landings of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the west coast of Newfoundland totalled 11,726 t in 2001, down 1,190 t from 2000. This total falls well below the average annual landings of 13,211 t calculated for 1965-2000 and the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 15,000 t. The largest landings were in NAFO Unit Area 4Rc, with a total of 6,581 t. Large purse seiners on their own accounted for 8,344 t of herring, compared with 3,381 t for small purse seiners. Among spring spawners, the catch at age was dominated by the 1996 year-class, which represented 31.9% of the total catch, while among fall spawners, it was dominated by the 1995 year-class, with 34.8%. In 2001, the condition of both spring and fall spawners improved once again, so that the values obtained now exceed the historical averages. Almost all of the herring age 4 and over are sexually mature, which means that they are now reaching maturity at a younger age than in the 1960s and 1970s. For information purposes, this document presents the distributions of the herring catch in the most recent groundfish and shrimp abundance surveys and cod sentinel fisheries, along with the main comments offered by the industry.
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