PURPOSE: To provide demographic parameters and relative indices of abundance for Atlantic herring in NAFO Division 4T. DESCRIPTION: The experimental gillnet survey is conducted in collaboration with Atlantic herring harvesters and uses standardized multi-mesh gillnets. Gillnets are set on spawning grounds in the spring and fall. Data (fish and sample) are collected to provide: (1) relative age-disaggregated indices of abundance, (2) an indicator of relative changes in fishery selectivity over time, and (3) information on the demographic composition of herring on the spawning grounds. PARAMETERS COLLECTED: Sample: sample location; sample weight; mesh size; length frequency Biological: length; weight; gonad weight; maturity stage (biological); sex (biological); ring count (biological) USE LIMITATION: To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

This project was completed by the Pelagics Section in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). As part of the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program, a historical research gillnet program was reinitiated in Placentia Bay. Four local fishers each set fleets of standardized nets to catch herring for 6 weeks during the spring. The data collected was used to update a time series and provide advice at the herring stock assessment in October 2022.  This program was continued in the 22/23 fiscal year. Data collected from this program included gillnet catch rates, bycatch, temperature and biological (herring) samples; from which biological metrics such as length, weight, sex, maturity and age were measured. This record contains catch data for 2018 to 2021, as well as biological data from 2018.

Atlantic herring. Concentration, breeding areas and larval retention areas of Atlantic Herring in the St. Lawrence Estuary.Data extracted from the Fish Habitat Management Information System (FHAMIS). Concentration areas, spawning sites and breeding areas of Atlantic herring according to a literature review of documents produced between 1977 and 1998.

Atlantic herring NAFO 4T commercial landings data. Landings (in metric tons) per year, per stock (spring spawners and fall spawners), per fishing season (spring and fall) and per gear (fixed and mobile). Two fish samples are taken per week per herring fishing area to determine stock identification (spring or fall spawners). Daily landings data are obtained from DFO Statistics Branch. Stock (spring or fall spawner) data are gathered from port sampling.