Atlantic herring
(Clupea harengus harengus
) is a pelagic fish species
which is widely distributed in the north Atlantic. Herring
exist in distinct populations with well defined migration
patterns and spawning periods.
Herring found in the St. Georges
Bay area are part of a much larger management unit that
includes all of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the
north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula to the northern
tip of Cape Breton. There are two spawning components, one
which spawns in the spring, and the other that spawns in the
fall. There are also several sub-components which have much
more specific spawning grounds. Herring migrate out of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence to overwinter in the Sydney Bight area,
east of Cape Breton. The return migration occurs in
May.
Herring spawning grounds close to
St. Georges Bay include fall spawning at Pictou Island and
Fisherman's Bank off eastern PEI and these spawning
concentrations are actively fished each year. Spawning has
also been reported on Pomquet Bank in St. Georges
Bay.
The southern Gulf of St. Lawrence
herring fishery has been regulated with total allowable
catches (TAC) since the early 1970s. The TAC is currently
divided between inshore (gillnet) and offshore (purse seine) vessels, spring
and fall spawning populations, and separate spawning
grounds. Separate allocations are currently made for the
Pictou Island and Fisherman's Bank areas, and these are
fished by vessels from St. Georges Bay ports.
About 90% of herring
landings within our study
area have been made at Lismore. Annual landings of herring
in the St. Georges Bay area have varied between a low of 200
t in 1993, to a high of 3600 t in 1995. This variation
depends on several factors including the available quota and
the proximity of the specific ports to the fishing grounds.
The relatively high landings in St. Georges Bay ports in the
1994-95 is because the herring were found closer to Lismore
in these 2 years.
Herring is mainly fished in the
fall of the year during their spawning season. Herring
spawning times are remarkably stable from year to year, as
reflected in the consistency in the timing of the annual
fisheries. Between 1986-97 the date at which 50% of the
catch was made (the median date) in the fall fishery in the
Pictou area has varied between September 9 - September 23, a
difference of 2 weeks. The fishery on Fisherman's Bank has
been slightly earlier with the median date varying between
August 26-September 9.
Back to
Summary of Fisheries In St. Georges Bay
