Assessment of the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (areas 13 to 17, 12A, 12B, 12C and 16A) snow crab stocks in 2021

Abstract

Between 2020 and 2021, the total allowable catch (TAC) decreased by 5.0% to 1,213.2 t and was reached. Landings in 2021 totalled 1,217.0 t, down 8.1% from 2020 (1,324.0 t). For a second consecutive year, the commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE) rose in 2021 (+11.2% from 2020 to 2021) but remained among the lowest values of the 2000–2021 period. Dockside sampling indicated that landings in 2021 were approximately half recruits (crabs of shell condition 1–2), representing a proportion fairly similar to the last sampling in 2019. The commercial abundance indicator of the post-season survey remained steady (+5.8% from 2020 to 2021) throughout the 2018–2021 period, with the lowest values seen since 2000. However, for a second year in a row, this indicator rose steadily in the southern portion of the area to near the historical average for this subregion. All the post-season survey abundance indicators for adolescent and adult males showed values similar to those observed in 2020. Adolescent abundance levels in the southern part of the area were at the historical average. The decrease in the mean weight of the spermathecal load of primiparous females and data from the post-season survey since 2020 suggest an increase in the number of primiparous females. The favourable thermal habitat indices for both large and small snow crabs showed a downward temporal trend over the 1990–2021 period. The values observed in 2021 are the lowest in each of the time series. The combined index increased by 9.1% between 2020 and 2021. Values from 2019 to 2021 were among the lowest observed throughout the 2000–2021 period. Indicators suggest that the biomass available to the fishery in 2022 should be similar to that available in 2021. [...]