118 
Fishery Bulletin 11 6(2) 
Table 2 
The proportional share of suitable habitat for Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus ) within 
each North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) division, and as a percentage of total surveyed 
area within each NAFO division, calculated by using data from trawl surveys conducted from 2001 
to 2013 in 3 regions of the northwest Atlantic Ocean: Newfoundland and Labrador (3L, 3M, 3N, 30, 
and 3Ps), Nova Scotia and the United States (4Vn, 4Vs, 4W, 4X, 5Y, 5Zc, 5Ze, and 5Zw), and the 
northern and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Habitat suitability for Atlantic halibut was modeled on 
a scale of 0-1 by using maximum entropy. Proportion of suitable habitat within region (%) represents 
the availability of suitable habitat at the division level, and SH-based shares represent suitable habi¬ 
tat availability in relation to the entire study area. In and out refer to inside and outside Canada’s 
Exclusive Economic Zone, and sampling intensity, by division, is given in the number of sampling 
sets per square kilometer. For locations of NAFO divisions, see the map in Figure 1. 
Proportion of suitable 
Sampling intensity SH-based shares habitat within region 
NAFO division (sets/km 2 ) (%) (%) 
3L (in) 
0.023 
2.2 
1.6 
3L(out) 
0.026 
0.0 
0.0 
3M (cap) 
0.002 
12.3 
4.1 
3N (in) 
0.022 
6.7 
1.2 
3N (out) 
0.033 
20.0 
3.9 
30 (in) 
0.027 
24.0 
8.3 
30 (out) 
0.054 
44.3 
1.3 
3Ps 
0.030 
29.6 
12.1 
4Vn 
0.012 
28.2 
3.9 
4Vs 
0.024 
35.4 
8.1 
4W 
0.020 
38.8 
16.5 
4X 
0.020 
53.4 
23.1 
5Zc 
0.103 
4.7 
0.3 
5Y, 5Ze, 5Zw 
0.031 
19.7% 
15.6% 
Table 3 
Habitat suitability for Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) modeled on a scale of 0-1 by 
using maximum entropy and data from trawl surveys conducted during 2001-2013 in the north¬ 
west Atlantic Ocean. To identify suitable habitat in international waters, for North Atlantic Fisher¬ 
ies Organization (NAFO) divisions that comprise both international and Canadian waters, habitat 
suitability was modeled both as a percentage within (%In) and outside (%Out) Canada’s Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ). Suitable-habitat availability within and outside of the EEZ was estimated 
as a percentage of the total surveyed area. NA represents areas that (on the basis of model output) 
contained no suitable habitat. 
NAFO division 
Area 
Area surveyed 
(km 2 ) 
%In 
%Out 
No. of 
samples 
3L 
Northern Grand Banks 
171,489 
1.6% 
0% 
3879 
3M 
Flemish Cap 
64,612 
NA 
4.1% 
108 
3N 
Southern Grand Banks 
74,153 
1.2% 
3.9% 
1922 
30 
.Southern Grand Banks 
43,400 
8.3% 
1.3% 
2052 
suitability, and in turn, how closely each variable is 
related to productivity. All of our modeled variables 
contributed to the prediction in all 3 subset regions 
(Suppl. Fig. 1, D-F) (online only). Percent rise and sea¬ 
sonal range in bottom temperature consistently made 
relatively small contributions, whereas the contri¬ 
bution of seasonal bottom temperatures and depth 
varied by region (Suppl. Fig. 1, D-F) (online only). NS 
and U.S., and the GSL had more limited depth pro¬ 
files, and the majority (80%) of the fish occurred in 
less than 190 m and 290 m, respectively (Table 4). In 
contrast, a much broader depth profile was portrayed 
in NF, where the majority of the catch was below 
560 m (Table 4, Suppl. Fig. 2) (online only). Owing to 
