Plaice Catch Rates
Plaice were fished mainly by seine and otter
trawl with seines being the dominant gear. The fishery has operated
each year since 1985 allowing the calculation of an annual catch rate
index. The main fishing months were July-October and there was little
variation in catch rate among months.
Figure 22: Average annual catch rates for plaice
in St. Georges Bay. The estimates are from an analysis of purchase
slip data from otter trawls and seines. The error bars indicate the
approximate 95% confidence intervals of the averages.
Plaice catch rates initially declined between
1985-87 from about 550 kg per slip to a low of less than 300 kg per
slip (Fig. 22). This was followed by an increasing trend from 1987
to 1997 when catch rates reached 750 kg per slip.
