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Atlatic Pelagic and Diadromous Fis aglitak

Fisheries Peches 1+1 and Oceans et Oceans Canada 2 Underwater World

ish that range through the water The sides and belly are silvery. The Fcolumn are known as "pelagic" body is very deep but relatively slender species, to differentiate them from and the mouth is large with the lower Atlantic "groundfish" which feed and dwell jaw projecting a little beyond the near the bottom. Feeding mainly in upper. The tail is deeply forked and Pelagic and surface or middle depth waters, pelagic there is a single dorsal fin. The scales fish travel mostly in large schools, are large and loosely attached. turning and manoeuvring in close for- may attain a length of Diadromous Fish mation with split-second timing. 43 cm and a weight of .68 kg. How- Best known of the pelagic popula- ever, average-sized herring in the catch tions of Canada's Atlantic coast are weigh only about .23 kg. herring, but others in order of Weirs and purse seines are the prin- economic importance include mack- cipal methods of fishing in the Bay of erel, , bluefin , and Fundy , which is based capelin. Most of the diadromous fish, on immature herring. Weirs operate notably the , and gas- during the spring and summer months pereau, migrate from freshwater to the and purse seines account for a con- sea and back again for spawning. siderable portion of the catch in all migrate in the opposite direction, seasons. spawning in saltwater but entering The gillnet is the major gear used in freshwater to feed. the spring spawning herring fishery of Pelagic species are generally very the Chaleur Bay, Northumberland streamlined. They are blue or blue-gray Strait and Magdalen Islands. Traps are over their backs and silvery-white also important in some areas. The underneath — a form of camouflage purse seine is the major fishing gear in when in the open sea. the herring off the Atlantic They are caught both in inshore and coast of Nova Scotia. offshore waters, principally with mid- Herring are processed and marketed water trawls, purse seines, gillnets, in various forms. About half of the traps and weirs. catch is marketed fresh or as frozen whole dressed fish and fillets, one quarter is cured, including salted and Herring ( harengus) vinegar-cured, and the rest is either Herring is a major component of canned, mainly as , kippered Atlantic Canada's annual fisheries snacks and fillets, or used for catch. They are found all along the and oil. northwest Atlantic coast from Cape Hatteras to Hudson Strait. Herring fishing areas in Canadian waters include the Bay of Fundy, Chedabucto (Salmo salar) Bay, N.S., the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Atlantic salmon are world-renowned and along the northeast and south as sport fish notable particularly for coasts of Newfoundland. their fighting qualities as well as their have a streamlined succulent, delicious pink flesh. They body which is steel-blue or greenish- are also caught commercially and com- blue on the back with green reflections. mand a higher price on the food market than most other fish. Reared in freshwater, they migrate to the sea where they live for one or more years, returning to their native streams to . They are found on both sides of the North Atlantic. On the North American side they range from Ungava Bay to northern New England. Most Canadian rivers, in- cluding those flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, support runs of salmon. Underwater World 3

they head out to sea for the zone of warmer water which flanks the outer edge of the Continental Shelf. Their migratory patterns vary somewhat from year to year as does their abundance. Among the handsomest of fish, Atlantic are easily distin- guished by the dark, tiger-like stripings on the back, the blue and silver body and the small finlets near the tail. The scales are very small. They are known to reach a length of 53 cm and to weigh as much as 1.8 kg. Mackerel populations are found on Like other members of the salmon both sides of the North Atlantic family, Atlantic salmon have a stout Ocean. On the North American side but streamlined body, small scales and they are found from Black Island, a small fleshy fin on the back just in Labrador, to Cape Hatteras off North front of the tail. Colour varies with age Carolina. and stage of development, but when In Canadian waters mackerel are in the sea they are silvery on the sides fished from the Bay of Fundy to New- and belly. The back varies through foundland, with best catches being shades of brown, green and blue. There made off southwestern Nova Scotia are numerous black spots, usually and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence around x-shaped, scattered along the body. the Magdalen Islands, Prince Edward Salmon may weigh up to 28 kg but Island and Cape Breton. rarely exceed 14 kg. The average About one third of the mackerel weight in the commercial catch is catch is taken with purse seines, 4.5 kg. another third with trapnets and weirs, for Atlantic and the balance with poundnets, gill- salmon is permitted in some areas with nets and trawls. trapnets or gillnets. Anglers fishing the Mackerel are a delicious fish, but do rivers use rod and line. not keep as well as some other species Salmon are marketed fresh, frozen that have less oil in their tissue. Salted, or smoked. smoked and fresh mackerel are con- sumed in large quantities while salted or pickled mackerel are widely exported. Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) Small quantities are canned or used as Mackerel are streamlined swift- bait for swordfish and . swimming ocean fish which migrate extensively through the open sea. They approach the Canadian Atlantic coast in late May in large schools. In the fall 4 Underwater World

taken almost exclusively by harpoon- ing, they are now caught principally with floating longlines. Swordfish are marketed in fresh or frozen form. Some restrictions have been placed on swordfish sales to United States markets because of mer- cury levels. Marketing is permitted in Canada but limited consumption is advised.

Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Bluefin tuna are swift wide-ranging fish which are found on both sides of the Atlantic and visit Canadian waters Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the summer and early fall months. Swordfish derive their name from They are known to range from the swordlike projection on the upper Labrador south to Brazil. jaw which may be up to one third their In Canadian waters giant bluefin, in full length. They grow to a length of excess of 136 kg, appear in June, and nearly 4.5 m and can weigh over occasionally the smaller jumpers (23 to 450 kg, although the dressed weight 68 kg) are seen in late August or early size in the Canadian catch ranges September. anywhere between 18 and 158 kg. Bluefin are beautifully streamlined Adult swordfish are a dark metallic fish with a bluntly-pointed nose and a blue-purple on the back and upper part robust body that tapers evenly from of the sides, shading to silver-grey and the shoulder region to a long, slim tail white on the belly. Notable character- region. The head has tightly closing istics include the "sword" and the jaws, flat gill-covers and eyes set flush absence of both teeth and scales. with the surrounding surfaces. The Migratory by nature, swordfish are body is completely covered with scales, widely distributed throughout the including a corselet of large scales in tropical and temperate oceans of the the shoulder region. Some of the fins world. They appear in Canadian fold into grooves or depressions thus Atlantic fishing areas in early June and giving a smooth contour to the body. remain until mid-October. With such shape, it is not surprising Offshore fishermen catch them as that bluefin are among the swiftest and far west as the Grand Banks. Once widest-ranging fish in the sea. Adult bluefin are metallic blue with a greenish sheen on the back, shading through silver on the sides to white on the belly. In contrast with adults, young bluefin have conspicuous white vertical bars and spots along the sides which disappear gradually as the fish grow. Bluefin tuna are excellent sportfish. In Canada, only rod and reel fishing for bluefin is permitted, although incidental catches in mackerel traps in St. Margaret's Bay, N.S., may be retained. Most of these latter fish are held in poundnets and fattened to increase their sale value. Unlike some other tuna species which are usually canned, bluefin tuna go to market mostly in fresh and frozen form. Underwater World 5

Although eels are caught commer- cially in all five Atlantic coast prov- inces, about 70 per cent of the total Canadian catch is in along the St. Lawrence River, particularly be- tween Trois-Rivieres and Cap Chat. Eels are taken with weirs, traps, long- lines and spears. The bulk of the catch goes to market as frozen whole fish, and some are sold fresh or smoked. About two thirds of the catch is exported.

Smelt (Osmerus mordax) Smelt are small fish common along the Atlantic coast and highly esteemed as food. They are an inshore species American eels (Anguilla rostrata) which range along the coast from American eels range along the north Labrador to New Jersey, with the American coast from the Caribbean to centre of abundance in the southern Labrador. Spawned in the southwest Gulf of St. Lawrence. Like salmon, North Atlantic, possibly in the region smelt leave the sea and ascend of the deep Saragasso Sea, they find freshwater rivers to spawn. The bulk of their way to far reaches of coastal the Canadian catch comes from the rivers and inland lakes. After a stay in bays and estuaries of rivers flowing freshwater of about five to 10 years, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. they return to their breeding grounds Smelt look somewhat like diminutive to spawn and die. They are principally salmon. Individuals in the commercial caught on their downstream migration catch range from 10 to 22 cm. They are to the sea. a translucent olive-green on the back; Eels have a long serpentine body and the sides are paler with a broad a pointed head. The jaws are armed longitudinal silvery band, and the belly with numerous needlelike teeth. is silvery. Fins and body are flecked Females approaching maturity average with tiny dusky dots. 70 to 100 cm in length and weigh 1.1 to Adult smelt accumulate in the river 1.6 kg. The males rarely exceed 60 cm estuaries in autumn but do not begin to in length. The body colour tends to move upstream until March. The com- vary with the habitat. They are usually mercial fishery begins in late autumn black to olive-brown over the back and and continues until late February. yellowish white on the belly, and While some fishing is done with gill- become silvery at the time of the nets in open water in November and spawning migration. December, most of it is done with trap- nets set under the ice in the estuaries in January and February. A large fishery exists in the Miramichi estuary in New Brunswick. Smelt are marketed mainly as frozen whole fish. They are graded to size and the biggest demand and the best prices are for the large fish. 6 Underwater World

Gillnets and dipnets are also used. Principal locations are in New Brunswick, especially in the Mira- michi, Shubenacadie and Saint John rivers. The bulk of the commercial catch is sold locally as bait for and snow fisheries. A smaller portion is marketed as fresh fish for home consumption.

Capelin ( villosus) Capelin (or "caplin" as the name is spelled in Newfoundland) are small fish of the high seas closely related to smelt. These slender little fish are a translucent olive-green on the back, shading to silver on the sides and white over the belly. At maturity they range from 13 to 20 cm in length. The distribution of capelin is circum- Gaspereau ( pseudoharengus) polar. They occur in all Arctic seas and Gaspereau, also commonly known range southward along the Atlantic as alewives, are members of the herring coast of North America, occasionally family. They are a deep-bodied small as far as the Gulf of Maine. They are fish, grey-green to blue-green over the extremely abundant off Labrador and back and silvery on the sides and belly. Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Average length is about 30 cm and St. Lawrence around Gaspe. average weight slightly over 225 g. Capelin are fished mainly with mid- A very similar species, the blueback water trawls in offshore areas. During herring (Alosa aestivalis) is often June and July when some head shore- mixed with alewives as "gaspereau". ward to spawn on or near the beaches, Gaspereau are found from New- they are caught with various seines, foundland and the southern portion of traps and dipnets. Most of the popula- the Gulf of St. Lawrence to North tions spawn away from the coast. Carolina. They are commonly found in During the early part of this century inshore Atlantic waters in the spring capelin were used extensively for raw when they swarm up coastal rivers to fertilizer, for bait in the fishery spawn. and for dog food. While still being The gaspereau fishery is carried on caught for these uses, capelin are at the time of the spring upstream increasingly in demand as human food migration, principally by means of in fresh, frozen and canned forms, trapnets and weirs set in the river beds. particularly in central Europe. Underwater World 7

Further Reading: Leim, A.H. and W.B. Scott. 1966. Fishes of the Atlantic Coast of Canada. Fish. Res. Bd. of Canada Bull. No. 155. Templeman, W. 1966. Marine resources of Newfoundland. Fish. Res. Bd. of Canada Bull. No. 154. Pinhorn, A. 1976. Living marine resources of Newfoundland- Labrador: status and potential. Fish. Res. Bd. of Canada Bull. No. 194. Hare, G.M. 1977. Atlas of the major Atlantic coast fish and invertebrate resources adjacent to the Canada- United States boundary areas. Fish. Res. Bd. of Canada Tech. Rept. 681. Anon. 1981. Resource Prospects for Canada's Atlantic Fisheries, 1981- 87 Communications Br., Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans.

Text: Communications Directorate Department of Fisheries and Oceans Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E6 8 Underwater World

Underwater World factsheets are brief illustrated accounts of fisheries resources and marine phenomena prepared for public information and education. They describe the life history, geographic distribution, utili- zation and population status of fish, shellfish and other living marine resources, and the nature, origin and impact of marine processes and phenomena.

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