A Review of Lobster (Homarus americanus) Landing Trends in the Northwest Atlantic, 1947-86

D. S. Pezzack

Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Biological Sciences Branch
Halifax Fisheries Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 550
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 2S7

Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 14: 115-127
ISSN-0250-6408

 

Pezzack, D.S. 1992. A Review of Lobster (Homarus americanus) Landing Trends in the Northwest Atlantic, 1947-86. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 14: 115-127. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v14.a9

The lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery is one of the most important inshore fisheries in eastern Canada, representing 28% of the total landed value in 1985. Landings along much of the coast dropped to near record lows in the late-1960s and 1970s, but then increased to levels not experienced since 1900. Total landings doubled between 1977 and 1986 and in some areas landings increased tenfold. A review of trends in landings since 1947 shows that the major increases and decreases occurred in all areas, though the timing and magnitude differed. The recent increase in landings began in the mid-1970s in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and in 1980 in the cooler areas of the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine. In Maine and Newfoundland they have been stable with 1986 landings near historic means. The increase in landings during the last 10 years is the result of increased recruitment. The recent increases have occurred in a variety of stocks and management regimes, suggesting wide spread environmental factors as the primary cause.

PDF

Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - December 1992
Publication Type - Journal Article

Citation: Pezzack, D.S. 1992. A Review of Lobster (Homarus americanus) Landing Trends in the Northwest Atlantic, 1947-86. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 14: 115-127. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v14.a9