Assessment of the International Fishery for Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in Division 3M (Flemish Cap), 1993-2012

Abstract

The development of the international shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery in NAFO Division 3M is described. Various indices show that even the stock was in high levels in 2006 and 2007 the lack of good recruitments in the last years and the progressive disappearance of the strong year classes 2001 and 2002 have caused a drastic decline of the stock. Although the fishing effort in recent years was low and from 2011 a moratorium over shrimp fishery was established, the increase of cod biomass (the most important predator of northern shrimp in 3M) has probably been the cause of the successive bad recruitments and resulting decline of the stock. The revised Nominal catches declined from 63 970 tonnes in 2003 to 5 448 tonnes in 2009 and 1 988 in 2010. No catches have been recorded in 2011 and 2012 due to the moratorium. The female biomass from EU survey was variable though without trends at a relative high level from 1998 to 2007 but since then the estimated biomass initiated a drastic decline to lowest levels in the EU survey series in 2011 and 2012. Also after the strong 2002 year-class (i.e. age 2 in 2004), all the subsequent year classes have been weak and the recruitment prospects remain uncertain. Considering the 15% of the maximum survey female biomass index as a limit reference point for biomass (Blim), the stock remain since 2011 in the collapse zone defined by the NAFO PA framework. The low exploitation rates in the recent past years and the moratorium in 2011 and 2012 have not provoked changes in the state of the stock. Also the recruitment prospects remain uncertain and therefore the fishing mortality would be set as close to zero as possible in 2013.