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Science Response 2014/023

Scallop Fishery Area/Time Closure to Protect Cod Spawning Aggregations in 5Z (Georges Bank)

Context

The requirement to account for all fishing mortality of Georges Bank Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) in Canada has led to efforts by the offshore scallop fishery to reduce cod bycatch. Along with active avoidance protocols adopted by the offshore scallop fleet, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has implemented area/time closures from early February to the end of March since 2005 to reduce bycatch and minimize disturbance to spawning aggregations of cod by the offshore scallop fishery on Georges Bank. To assist resource managers in determining appropriate area closures for the offshore scallop fishery on Georges Bank during the cod spawning seasons, fisheries management asked the following question: “What does a review of eastern Georges Bank (unit areas 5Zj and m cod distribution, particularly at spawning time, reveal about the spatial trends of the species and its overlap with the offshore scallop fishery? Highlight areas of high 5Zjm cod distribution using the cells previously defined and used.” This document provides information on the spatial distribution of cod abundance on eastern Georges Bank during the spawning period based upon the DFO February/March Georges Bank research vessel (RV) survey and its overlap with scallop catches the Canadian portion of on Georges Bank. In the previous year’s analysis, it was evident that cod distribution had changed enough to warrant using only more recent data. Therefore, the most recent 10-year period (2004-2013) of cod distribution is used to examine the spatial trends during the spawning period.

This Science Response results from the Science Response Process of January 2014, on the Review of Scallop Fishery Closure to Protect Cod Spawning Aggregations on Georges Bank in 2014. 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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