Infographic: Rise and Fall of Fish and Invertebrates

Infographic: Rise and Fall of Fish and Invertebrates

On the left, illustrations of various fish and invertebrate species which increased or decreased after the cod-collapse in the early 1990s. On the right, more recent trends for increasing and decreasing species.

Fish and invertebrate communities have changed dramatically in Atlantic Canada due to overfishing and climate change.

Trends: Post-Cod collapse (1992)

Decreasing species

• Atlantic cod. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Capelin. Bioregions: Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Atlantic herring. Bioregions: Scotian Shelf.
• Atlantic mackerel. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Increasing species

• Snow crab and Northern shrimp. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Greenland halibut. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Atlantic herring. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Recent trends (2010-2017)

Decreasing species

• Snow crab. Bioregions: Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Northern shrimp. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Greenland halibut. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Atlantic herring. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf.

Increasing species

• American lobster. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf.
• Silver hake. Bioregions: Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Atlantic halibut. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf.
• Atlantic redfish. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf.

Historically low levels

• Capelin. Bioregions: Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.
• Atlantic cod. Bioregions: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.

Bioregions legend

• Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Scotian Shelf.
• Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves.