1. Grand Bank 



The Grand Bank (KMAF Subarea 3) is a 

 major source of both haddock and ocean 

 perch, and is of primary importance to the 

 Newfoundland fishery. Virtually all the 

 haddock landed in Newfoundland In 19^7 came 

 from these grounds, (table VII -8). Simi- 

 larly, almost half of all ocean perch land- 

 ed in Newfoundland in 1957 was caught on 

 the Grand Bank. Although these grounds are 

 of much less importance to the Nova Scotia 

 fleet, they do account for roughly one- 

 fifth of all haddock landed at Nova Scotia 

 ports. 



Although the data in table VII -9 are 

 limited and extend back only a few ysars, 

 they Indicate that these fishing grounds 

 are among the most productive of the North- 

 west Atlantic. In 1956 and 1957, for ex- 

 ample, Nova Scotian large -trawlers averaged 

 some 18,000 pounds of haddock per-day 

 fished, and Newfoundland large -trawlers 

 averaged about 3U,000 pounds per day. Ocean 

 perch productivity is even higher. New Eng- 

 land large -trawlers, which account for the 

 heaviest landings of ocean perch from the 

 Grand Bank, had average catches of 66,000 

 pounds per day in 1956 and 77,000 pounds 

 per day in 1957. The major reason for such 

 high figures for ocean perch seeiiis to be 

 that the fishery is not based upon the re- 

 moval of accumulated stock, as is the case 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Nova 

 Scotia grounds. The belief is that there 

 exist large pelagic stocks of ocean perch 

 which coma onto the Bank from the ocean, 

 replacing the fish removed. There is no 

 scientific evidence, however, to confirm 

 this belief. 



Besides Canada and the United States 

 the fishery on the Grand Bank is also pros- 

 •out«d vigorously by Spain and, in 1957, 

 by the D. S. S. R. In 1957, Spanish trawl- 

 ers landed over 61i million pounds of had- 

 dock on the Grand Bank. The Russian fac- 

 toiy ship, which made 65 trips into the 

 grounds in 1957, fished principally the 

 ocean perch stocks, landing 108 million 

 pounds of that species. In terms of catch 

 per day fished, the productivity experience 

 of the Russian trawler was over U2,000 

 pounds per day of ocean perch. The Spanish 

 fleet, consisting of trawlers in the 900 to 

 1,800 ton class, and fishing principally 

 for cod, averaged a catch of 15,000 pounds 

 of haddock per day fished on the Grand Bank 

 in 1957. 



It is evident that competition for 

 haddock and ocean perch on the Grand Bank 

 among Canadian, United States, and Euro- 

 pean trawlers is growing. As noted earli- 

 er, the Mediterranean nations will subsi- 

 dize their fleets and regulate their im- 

 ports because of their dependence on salt 

 fish as a protein food. Consequently, it 

 may be expected that they will increase 

 their efforts on the highly productive 

 Grand Bank. It is not expected, however, 

 that this will seriously decrease the Cana- 

 dian rate of productivity in the immediate 

 future. Whether such effect will ensue in 

 later years will depend on a number of fac- 

 tors, including the actual increase in 

 fishing effort expended, and the rate of 

 recruitment of the stock. 



2. Nova Scotia Banks 



The Nova Scotia Banks (ICNAF Subdivi- 

 sions liU, I4W, and liX) are fished princi- 

 pally by Nova Scotia and the United States. 

 Landings from these banks by Neswfoimdland 

 trawlers are negligible, and Spain is the 

 only other country to land any appreciable 

 amount of groundfish (cod) from the area. 



These banks are the principal haddock 

 grounds fished by Nova Scotia. Three- 

 fourths of all haddock landed in the Prov- 

 ince in 1957 came from the adjacent banks, 

 (table VII-8). In fact. Nova Scotia has 

 almost exclusive domain of the haddock 

 fishery in the area. The only other 

 country prosecuting the banks, the United 

 States, fishes there principally for ocean 

 perch and secondarily for haddock. 



In recent years, the haddock produc- 

 tivity of the Nova Scotia Banks has been 

 increasing. In 1953, catch per day fished 

 amounted to 9,000 pounds. By 1957 this 

 figure had increased to almost 16,000 

 pounds. This was accompanied by an in- 

 crease in effort from 1.593 days fished ^21/ 

 to 2,531 days fished. 2±£/ These figures 

 are indicative of the efficacy of the 

 proposition that the optimum amount of 

 fishing effort will maintain and may in- 

 crease the level or productivity. It must 



121/ ICNAF Statistical Volume for the 

 year 1953. 



122/ ICNAF Statistical Volume for the 

 year 1957. 



85 



