Ices/Icnaf Redfish; Symposium
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- 157 - 7. Redfish Distribution off Baffin Island, Northern Labrador, and in Ungava Bay in August—September 1959 By WILFRED TEMPLEMAN Fisheries Research Board of Canada Biological Station, St. John’s, Nfld. Introduction Sizes, types, maturities, and larval drift During a cruise of the “A. T. Cameron”, 18. August Table 2 shows the sizes of small redfish, 6-14 cm in to 14. September 1959, a series of stations was worked, length, and of females above these sizes, obtained in beginning with a line off Cape Dyer at the southern the different sets. Apart from a very small number of end of Baffin Bay and at the northern end of the Davis large marinus-type fish obtained at 300 fathoms (550 Strait Ridge in Lat. 66042'-66°48'N and continuing m) on all lines from 65°N to 62°N, all redfish definitely southwards, usually on each degree of latitude line, as belonged to the mentella form typical of the Labrador/ far as Lat. 58°N off Labrador, and also in Ungava Bay northern Grand Bank areas. That is, they were men (Figure 1). At each station fishing by otter trawl was tella with intermediate eye sizes, thick bodied and in carried out in depths generally of 100 or 150 or both, good condition, with the usual long and thin dorsal 200, 250, 300, and 400 fathoms (180, 270, 370, 460, spines, the most anterior pre-opercular spine usually 500, and 730 m). The dragging period on bottom for projecting obliquely downward and forward, and the each set was a half-hour. On the northern lines it was chin beak sharp angled, but short, having a base often impossible to take the 100 fathom (180 m) and approximately as wide as the beak length. sometimes the 150 fathom (270 m) drags because of Many mentella-type females up to 48 cm in length, ice. Dragging in all depths of 175 fathoms (320 m) a large size for this subspecies, were found from Lat. and deeper was carried out in daylight, between sun 64°N southwards, but although in the southern Cana rise and sunset. A commercial sized No. 41 otter trawl dian area mentella-type females become sexually was used and the cod-end was lined with l1/8'' mesh mature at 30 cm or smaller, all females were immature nylon netting. The towing speed was 3/2 knots but 3 as far south as Lat. 62°N. Surprisingly also, all 8 knots at 400 fathoms (730 m). marinus-type females encountered between Lat. 65°N and 62°N, although they ranged in length from 54-65 Redfish Catches cm, were immature. At Lat. 60°N off Cape Chidley, Labrador, only 3 % of 148 mentella-type females On Line I off Cape Dyer only two small redfish 30-48 cm in length were sexually mature, while further were found and on Line II, Lat. 66°N, only one. One south at Lat. 58°N off Labrador, 40 % of 45 mentella- hundred and fourteen redfish were obtained on Line type females of 30-47 cm in length were sexually III at Lat. 65°N, and thereafter on the more southern mature. lines they were usually present in the sets in varying numbers. Only a few small redfish, however, were Small, 6-13 cm, mentella-type redfish were present found in Ungava Bay. Details of the catches are shown in the catch from Line IV off Cumberland Sound in Table 1. No commercial catches of redfish were (Lat. 64°N) to Ungava Bay, and were especially obtained over the whole area, the greatest quantities in plentiful (173 individuals) at 155 fathoms (284 m) on a half-hour’s dragging being about 500 lbs (230 kg) in Line V, north of Frobisher Bay (Lat. 63°N). There 297 fathoms (543 m) at Lat. 64°N, and about 800 lbs was a small number of these little redfish in Ungava (360 kg) in 305 fathoms (558 m) in Lat. 62°N. Espe Bay but none were found in the two lines at Lat. 60° cially in the northern part of the area the greatest red- and 58°N, off northern Labrador. fish catches were taken at the 300 fathom (550 m) Since redfish larvae and fry live in the upper water level. layers for at least several months after extrusion and - 158 - BAFFIN ISLAND GREENLAND Ltybourn« 1*.^ LABRADOR VII SEA -Copi Chidiey, X XI LABRADOR Cootflm« lOO f o f h -------------------- 200 f o f h ------------------ 400 »o«* — — -------- Figure 1. Location of otter-trawling sets by the “A. T. Cameron”, 24. August to 10. September 1959. - 159 - Table 1. Catches of redfish in half-hour drags by the “A. T. Cameron”, August—September, 1959 (1 pound — 0-45 kg.) (Time is the mid-time of the half-hour set in Atlantic standard time for the 60th meridian W. Four hours earlier than G.M.T.) Redfish captured Time Position Bottom Set Depth range Mentella- Marinus- Date Atl. (mid-point of drag) temp. No. type type stand. Lat. N Long. W Fathoms Metres °C Pounds Pounds Line I off Cape Dyer, Baffin Island 1 Aug. 24 21-32 66°42' 60°55' 149-150 273-274 -1-05 0 0 2 18-10 66°47' 60°53' 200 366 -0-48 0-5 0 3 13-20 66° 48' 60° 10’ 300 549 1-16 0 0 4 09-22 66°48' 59°49' 375-390 686-713 1-22 0 0 Line II off Cape Walsingham, Baffin Island Aug. 25 14-43 66°04'30" 60°27' 155-159 284-291 -0-39 0 0 33 10-33 66°02' 59°45' 200 366 0-31 0 0 33 06-38 66°04' 59°28' 287-300 525-549 -1-07 0 0 33 19-55 66° 04' 59° 00' 310 567 103 0-5 0 Line III off Cape Mercy, Baffin Island 9 Aug. 27 20-40 65 ’05' 60°22' 150-155 274-284 0-25 0 0 10 17-00 65 ’07' 59°32' 200 366 1-05 0-3 0 11 12-44 65 ’07' 58°48'30" 248-250 454-457 1-28 11 0 12 Aug. 26 11-58 65 ’08'30" 58° 10' 298-300 545-549 2-24 40 40 13 05-42 65 ' 12' 58°13' 410-420 750-768 3-44 12 0 Line IV off Leybourne I., Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island 14 Aug. 29 17-28 64°or 62°54' 175 320 1-15 4 0 15 33 08-15 64°01' 59° 28' 200-208 366-380 1-22 19 0 16 06-05 64°02' 58°43' 240-250 439-457 1-59 13 0 17 Aug. 28 07-47 64°00' 58°30' 294-300 538-549 2-29 499 16 18 33 16-10 64°00' 58° 10' 400 732 3-52 0 0 Line V east of Lady Franklin I., Baffin Island 19 Aug. 31 19-16 62°59' 63°00' 107-112 196-205 -1-36 0 0 20 33 13-15 63°00' 62°34'30" 125 229 -0-25 0-5 0 21 10-05 62°58'30" 62° 13'30" 150-160 274-293 M 3 25 0 22 05-55 63°04' 61 °20' 200 366 2-15 12 0 23 Aug. 30 17.49 63°00' 60°58' 250 457 1-84 25 0 288-300 211 24 33 05.57 62°55' 60°48' 527-549 2-07 7 395-398 25 33 10-45 63°01' 60° 10' 722-728 3-57 5 Line VI off Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island 26 Sept. 2 20-10 62°20' 63° 13' 153-156 280-285 1-48 0-3 0 27 17-45 62°14' 62°55' 200 366 3-34 25 0 28*) 33 11-48 62°10' 64°02'30" 210 384 2-81 0 0 29 06 00 62°00' 63°08' 250-260 457-476 3-SO 30 0 30 Sept. 1 15-55 62°00' 60°40' 300-310 549-567 3-78 767 18 31 33 07-20 62°02' 61 °07' 300-310 549-567 4-10 45 0 32 33 13-10 62°00' 60°25' 390-410 713-750 4-07 57 0 Line VII off Hudson Strait 33*) Sept. 3 13-47 6r00' 61 °05' 315-320 576-585 4-12 4 0 34*) 09-57 61 °00' 60°53'30" 408-415 746-759 4-30 0 0 Line VIII Ungava Bay 35 Sept. 6 06-35 60° 16' 67°50' 27-28 49-51 1-98 0 0 36 Sept. 5 20-20 60°26' 67°00' 57-58 104-106 0-56 0 0 37 19-23 60°26' 66°59' 58-59 106-108 0-56 0 0 38 10-23 60°27'30" 66°20' 100-102 183-187 -0-60 0 0 39 07-13 60°33' 66° 19' 148-155 271-284 019 0-2 0 40 Sept. 4 18-40 60°36' 66° 19' 200 366 0-12 0-5 0 41 16-01 60°40' 66°21' 300 549 1-51 0-5 0 42 12-26 60°41' 66°20' 395-402 722-735 1-75 0 0 Line IX Ungava Bay 43 Sept. 6 15-18 60°45' 67°02' 200 366 1-03 1 0 44 19-30 60°52' 67°00' 295-300 540-549 1-46 0 0 *) Unsuccessful sets; net torn badly; not on bottom etc. - 160 - Table 1 (continued) Line X off Cape Chidley, Labrador 45 Sept.