Bibliography of the Maurice Lamontagne Institute

Johanne GUÉRIN

MILLER, R., C. MACDOUGALL, J. GUERIN, 2011. Inter-laboratory verification of ageing consistency for Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus harengus) otoliths ; Vérification inter-laboratoire de la concordance dans la détermination d’âge d’otolithes de hareng (Clupea harengus harengus). DFO, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Research Document ; MPO, Secrétariat canadien de consultation scientifique, Document de recherche, 2011/075, 14 p .

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An inter-laboratory verification of ageing consistency for Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) of the Gulf of St. Lawrence was undertaken by two laboratories, the Maurice Lamontagne Institute (MLI) in Mont-Joli (Quebec) and the Gulf Fisheries Center (GFC) in Moncton, (New Brunswick). The new primary age reader and the secondary age reader of MLI were compared with the highly experienced GFC age reader. The two laboratories aged a total of 200 whole otoliths from the 2010 commercial fishery conducted in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence; half of the otoliths were from NAFO Division 4R and half from NAFO Division 4S. Results are presented in terms of percentage agreement, total coefficient of variation (CV), Bowker’s test of symmetry, and age bias plots. The primary IML reader compared to the GFC reader resulted in 81.1 % agreement with a CV of 2.05 %. The secondary IML reader compared to the GFC reader yielded 66.5 % agreement with a CV of 3.58 %. The comparison of the two IML readers resulted in 71.8 % agreement with a CV of 2.74 %. In all three comparisons, Bowker’s test showed that there was no significant asymmetry. The levels of precision reflect the difficulty in the age determinations of these herring, being from catches in the summer and with a predominance of older fish.

GRÉGOIRE, F., L. LEFEBVRE, J. GUÉRIN, J. HUDON, J. LAVERS, 2004. Le hareng (Clupea harengus harengus L.) de la côte ouest de Terre-Neuve (Division 4R de l'OPANO) en 2003 ; Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the West coast of Newfoundland (NAFO Division 4R) in 2003. MPO, Secrétariat canadien de consultation scientifique, Document de recherche ; DFO, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Research Document, 2004/078, 74 p .

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The 2003 herring landings (Clupea harengus harengus L.) on the West coast of Newfoundland amounted to 14,681 t, representing 73 % of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The most significant landings were recorded in unit area 4Rd, with 10,546 t. The large seiners alone unloaded 11,090 t of herring on a quota of 11,000 t, compared to 2,307 t or 52 % of their quota for the small seiners, and 1,284 t or 28 % of their quota for fishermen using gillnet. The catch-at-age of spring spawners was dominated by the year-class of 1996, with 26.5 % of all the catches, and that of the fall spawners, by the year-class of 2000, with 34.1 % of the catches. The condition (index of Fulton) of the spring and fall spawners declined sharply in 2003, following major gains between 1998 and 2002. Almost all the 4 year old herrings and more are mature and, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, sexual maturity is now reached earlier, in particular for the spring spawners. Herring is generally caught in the whole sampling area covered by the annual scientific surveys conducted to assess groundfish and shrimp (Pandalus borealis) abundance in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. During these surveys, the most significant herring catches are realized in the area of Anticosti, on the lower North Shore of Quebec, and on the West coast of Newfoundland, at the head of the Esquiman Channel. Two dispersion indices calculated by indicator kriging show an upward trend between 1990 and 2001, followed by an important decline in 2003. For the West coast of Newfoundland, these two indices were relatively stable between 1993 and 1997. They increased rapidly after that and declined again in 2003.

GRÉGOIRE, F., C. LÉVESQUE, J. GUÉRIN, J. HUDON, J. LAVERS, 2004. Pêche et biologie du maquereau bleu (Scomber scombrus L.) dans les sous-régions 3 et 4 de l'OPANO en 2003 ; Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) fishery and biology in NAFO Subareas 3 and 4 in 2003. MPO, Secrétariat canadien de consultation scientifique, Document de recherche ; DFO, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Research Document, 2004/079, 57 p .

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In 2003, landings of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) in the northwest Atlantic totalled 65,512 t, up to 3,372 t from 2002. In eastern Canada, 34,413 t were landed, a submit since 1960, including 26,295 t in Newfoundland only. The most important catches of this province were realized in unit areas 4Rb, 4Rc, and 4Rd. The other important unit areas were 4Tf and 4Xm, located respectively in the Magdalen Islands and close to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The catch at age associated to the 2003 Canadian landings was characterized by a very large number of fish 4 years old, from the 1999 year-class. At ages 1 to 4 years old, the fish in this year-class accounted for 63%, 68 %, 77 %, and 75 % of the total catch (in numbers) made between 2000 and 2003. Such values have never been observed in the year-classes that have dominated the fishery since the late 1960s.