Changes In Groundfish Fishing Strategies

Understanding factors which affect fishing strategies is important for interpreting catch rate information in terms of stock status and for anticipating how fishing fleets may react to changes in fisheries management measures. There were important changes in the range of fisheries prosecuted by groundfish fleets in St. Georges Bay during the study period and these are described in the following section along with some possible reasons for the changes. It will be important to receive input from local fishermen before drawing firm conclusions of the causes. Additional input is welcomed.

Some of the important changes in the management of fisheries in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence are given below.

• the commercial cod fishery was closed on September 3, 1993.
  
  
• the closure of the hake fishery was announced in December, 1994 and affected the 1995 fishing year.
  
  
• Several significant changes to the fishery regulations were announced in 1993:
  
  
• the minimum mesh size was increased from 108 (diamond) to 120 mm (square mesh) for mobile gears (<14 m (45 feet)) fishing in the Northumberland Strait area
  
  
• a regulation to control excessive dumping/discarding of groundfish at sea was introduced requiring fishing vessels to land all groundfish caught (with some species excluded)
  
  
• following the closure of the cod directed fishery (1/09/93), the minimum mesh size for mobile gears (<14 m (45 feet)) targeting hake in the Northumberland Strait was increased (again) to 130 mm (square mesh).
  
  
• the fishing season for mobile gear in the eastern portion of the Northumberland Strait was adjusted to open on July 15 to allow hake to spawn.

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