Fisheries Science

The Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as the coastal marine waters of Northern Québec, are filled with abundant and varied animal and plant species, and a good part of the work of Maurice Lamontagne Institute's scientists consists of trying to understand the dynamics of these populations.

Halieutic* sciences research includes the study of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, marine plants as well as seals and whales. Scientists assess stocks and provide advice to resource managers and the fishing industry on conservation measures which should be adopted in order to maintain harvested species. They conduct research on the biology, ecology and physiology of invertebrates and marine fish as well as on factors influencing stock size, recruitment, growth and reproduction. Research is aimed at developing conservation strategies to ensure both sustainable management and use of the resources. Stock assessments are carried out for commercially fished species in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, of which the main ones are: cod, redfish, Greenland halibut, snow crab, lobster, shrimp, herring, capelin, mackerel and scallops. Scientists also study seals and marine mammals of the St. Lawrence, of which the beluga whale is probably the most famous.

* Halieutic: related to commercial fishing.

Links of interest

• Stock assessment terminology: definitions of terms related to the assessment of marine resource status as compiled by the Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat.
• Sentinel Fisheries Program: cooperation between the fishing industry and DFO in order to develop time series of abundance indices to be used in the assessment process of cod stocks.
• Fisheries Resources Conservation Council (FRCC): partnership between scientific and academic expertise, and all sectors of the fishing industry, making recommendations to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on issues such as exploitation levels and conservation measures for the Atlantic fishery.
• DFO Underwater World: series of information sheets on a variety of marine and aquatic species.
• Comittee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC): committee of representatives from federal, provincial, territorial and private agencies as well as independant experts that assigns national status to species at risk in Canada.