be emphasize d, hcwever, that the data are 

 very limited and are only indicative. De- 

 finitive statements can be forthcoming only 

 when the data are more extensive and more 

 detailed. 



The Royal ComHiission study anticipates 

 increased landings of haddock from these 

 banks, and this increase will accrue to the 

 Nova Scotia fleet. Productivity, likewise, 

 should continue to increase, but If effort 

 (days fished) should increase at a greater 

 rate, then probably productivity will reach 

 a maximum and would decline if the level of 

 optimum effort were passed. Here again, 

 however, the situation is dependent on a 

 number of biological and climatic factors 

 about which there is Insufficient knowledge 

 to make any definite statements at this 

 time. 



3. Oulf Of St. Lawrence 



Hova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the 

 United States all prosecute the ocean perch 

 fisheiy of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (ICNAF 

 Subdivisions Ur, hS, and hJ) . Each of the 

 three depends on this source of ocean perch 

 in varying degrees. 93 percent of all 

 ocean perch landed In Nova Scotia in 19^7 

 came from these grounds. Newfoundland, on 

 the other hand, landed only ^3 percent of 

 its total catch of ocean perch in the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence, and less than 30 percent 

 of all United States landings of the spe- 

 cies came from the area, (table VII-8). 



This fishery did not become of impor- 

 tance to Caniida until the post -World War II 

 years. As noted previously, 123/ landings 

 of ocean perch have increased rapidly since 

 that time, but in recent years they have 

 shown a downward trend. Newfoundland 

 landings reached a peak of 38 million 

 pounds in 19^1, but by 1958 they had de- 

 clined to 25 million pounds. Nova Scotia 

 did not prosecute the fishery vigorously 

 until 1953, when almost 17 million pounds 

 were landed. Landings increased to a peak 

 of 32 million pounds in 1956, but have 

 likewise begun to decline, receding to 2? 

 million i>ounds in 1958. 



Productivity has also declined. Nova 

 Scotia trawlers had a catch of 30,000 



pounds per day fished in the area in 1953, 

 but by 1957 this had fallen to 19,000 

 pounds per day fished. Newfoundland trawl- 

 ers averaged 25,000 pounds per day in 1953. 

 The catch reached a peak of 3^1,000 pounds 

 per day in 1955 and declined to 21,000 

 pounds per day in 1957. 



The cause for these declining landings 

 and productivity figures seems to stem from 

 the fact that the fishery is based on an 

 accumulated stock being subjected to in- 

 creased effort. Chart VII-1 shows that ef- 

 fort, in terms of days fished, increased 

 from 1;90 to 1,062 days over the period 

 1953 to 1957 by Nova Scotia trawlers, with 

 a corresponding decrease in productivity 

 from 30,000 to 19,000 pounds per day. Simi- 

 larly, in Newfoundland, effort increased 

 from 177 to 391 days fished, while produc- 

 tivity declined from 25,000 to 21,000 

 pounds per day fished. While these data 

 cover only five years, they indicate clear- 

 ly that the stock is declining since the 

 stock removed is not being replaced. More- 

 over, the present rate of fishing effort 

 will inevitably mean further decreases in 

 productivity until eventually fishing ef- 

 fort will be transferred to more productive 

 ocean perch grounds, probably the Grand 

 Bank and more northern waters . When this 

 occurs, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, like 

 previous ocean perch grounds, should sta- 

 bilize at these lower levels of produc- 

 tivity. 



Summary 



In summary, it is anticipated that 

 productivity of haddock on the Grand Bank 

 and the Nova Scotia banks will not de- 

 crease, and may possibly increase if cur- 

 rent levels of effort are maintained or 

 even if they increase somewhat. The Grand 

 Bank, because of its more northerly loca- 

 tion, will remain an area of higher pro- 

 ductivity relative to the more southerly 

 Nova Scotia Banks. 



If ocean perch productivity on the 

 Nova Scotia Banks and in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence continues to decline, then the 

 fishery may shift to the Grand Banks 

 where the New England fleet, and recently 

 the Russian factory ship, have been ex- 

 periencing high levels of productivity. 



123/ caiapter II, p. 17, and table U-IO. 



86 



