Distribution of the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp in Baffin Bay. Technical Report No. 91

Distribution of the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp in Baffin Bay Technical report no. 91, 2013 Pinngortitaleriffik, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources 2 Title: Distribution of the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp in Baffin Bay Author(s): Ole A. Jørgensen and Nanette Hammeken Arboe Serial title and number: Technical report no. 91 Publisher: Pinngortitaleriffik, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Date of publication: 1.5.2013 Redaktionen afsluttet: 1.5.2013 Translation: Emma Kristensen, Pinngortitaleriffik. Financial support: Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Greenland Government as part of the Baffin Bay Environmental Study Program Cover photo: ISBN: 87-91214-66-1 ISSN: 1397-3657 Cited as: Jørgensen O.A. and Hammeken Arboe N. 2013. Distribution of the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp in Baffin Bay. Technical Report no. 91. Greenland Institute of Natural resources. Contact address: The report is only available in electronic format. You can download a PDF-file of the report at this homepage http://www.natur.gl/publikationer/tekniske rapporter It is possible to achieve a print of the report here: Pinngortitaleriffik, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources P.O. Box 570 3900 Nuuk Greenland Phone: +299 32 10 95 Fax: +299 32 59 57 E-mail: in[email protected] www.natur.gl 3 Distribution of the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp in Baffin Bay by Ole A. Jørgensen and Nanette Hammeken Arboe Technical report no. 91, 2013 Pinngortitaleriffik, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources 4 5 Eqqikaaneq Baffin Bugtimi aalisarnermi pingaarnertut aningaasarsiutigineqartutuat tassaapput raajarniarneq qaleralinniarnerlu. Raajarniarneq pingaarnertut ingerlanneqartarpoq Qeqertarsuup Tunuani Baffin Bugtimilu avataani. Qeqertarsuup kujataata kitaani avataasiorluni raajarniartoqartarpoq aammalu allorniusap sanimukaartup avannarpasissutsip 72° missaani. Kalaallit Nunaata kitaata imartaani raajartarineqartartut 60-75 %-ii (82.000 – 96.000 tonsit) allorniusaq sanimukaartoq avannarpasissuseq 68°-imiit avannamut Qeqertarsuup Tunua ilanngullugu pisarineqartarput. Raajartarineqartartut affaasa missat Baffin Bugtip avataani pisarineqartarput. Raajartarineqartartut amerlanerpaartaat ukiup qaammataani kingullerni pingasuni pisarineqartarput. Upernaviup, Uummannap Qeqertarsuullu Tunuata eqqaanni sinerissap qanittuini qaleralinniartoqartarpoq, kiisalu Baffin Bugtip avataanissaaq qaleralinniartoqartarpoq. Qaleralittarineqartartut amerlassutsimikkut ukiuni kingulliunerusuni aalaakkaasumik inissisimapput, sinerissap qanittuini pisaasartut 20.000 tonsit missaanniipput Baffin Bugtimilu 6.500 tonsit missaanniillutik. Taakku pisarineqartartut Kalaallit Nunaata imartaani katillutik qaleralittarineqartartut 60 %-iisa missigaat. Baffin Bugtimi qalut atorlugit qaleralinniartoqartarpoq Qeqertarsuullu kitaani itissutsini 1000 meterit missaanni aalisartoqartarpoq, qaleralittarineqartartullu amerlanerpaartaat ukiup naajartornerani qaammatini kingullerni pingasuni pisarineqartarput. Sammenfatning Fiskeriet efter rejer og hellefisk er de eneste fiskerier af væsentlig økonomisk betydning nord for 68°N. Fiskeriet efter rejer foregår i Disko Bugten og udenskærs i Baffin Bugten. Udenskærs fiskes der først og fremmest sydvest for Disko og nord for 72°N. Fangsterne nord for 68°N, inklusiv Disko Bugt, udgør 60-75% (82.000 – 96.000 ton) af de samlede vestgrønlandske fangster. Godt og vel halvdelen af fangsterne tages udenskærs i Baffin Bugten. Fiskeriet topper i 3. kvartal. Fiskeriet foregår på 250-300 m. Fiskeriet efter hellefisk finder sted omkring de to indenskærs områder Upernavik, Uummannaq og i Disko Bugt samt udenskærs i Baffin Bugten. Fangsterne har været ret konstante i de seneste år og har ligger på ca. 20.000 tons i de indenskærs områder og ca. 6.500 tons i Baffin Bugten og har udgjort ca. 60% af de samlede fangster af hellefisk i Grønland. Fiskeriet i Baffin Bugten foregår med trawl på ca. 1000 m dybde vest for Disko og topper i 3. kvartal. Summary The fishery for Northern shrimp and Greenland halibut are only two fisheries of significant economic importance north of 68°N. The fishery for Northern shrimp takes place offshore in Baffin Bay and in the inshore area of Disko Bay. Offshore the fishery is concentrated south west of Disko Island and and around 72°N. The catches north of 68°N including Disko Bay constitutes about 60-75% (82.000 t-96.000 tons) of the total West Greenland catches. Slightly above half of the catches are taken 6 offshore in the Baffin Bay. The fishery peaks in 3. quarter. The fishery takes place at 250-300 m. The fishery for Greenland halibut takes place both in the inshore areas around Upernavik, Uummannaq and Disko Bay and offshore in Baffin Bay. The catches have been relatively constant in recent years and have been around 20.000 tons in the inshore areas and around 6.500 tons in Baffin Bay and have constituted about 60% of the total catches of Greenland halibut in Greenland waters. The fishery in Baffin Bay is conducted by trawlers at about 1000 m depth west of Disko Island and peaks in 3. quarter. 7 Table of contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Greenland halibut ............................................................................................... 8 1.2. Northern shrimp ................................................................................................. 9 2. Materials and Method .............................................................................................. 11 3. Results………. ............................................................................................................ 13 3.1. Greenland halibut offshore ................................................................................ 13 3.2. Greenland halibut inshore .................................................................................. 18 3.3 Northern shrimp......................................................................................................... 20 4. Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………..24 5. References……………... ...................................................................................................... 25 8 1.Introduction The fishery for Greenland halibut and Northern shrimp are the only two fisheries of significant economic importance north of 68°N. The fishery for Greenland halibut takes place both offshore and inshore, while the fishery for Northern shrimp takes place offshore and in the inshore area of Disko Bay. 1.1 Greenland halibut Biology The Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) is a flatfish species, widely distributed in the North Atlantic. At West Greenland it is found from Cape Farewell (59°N) in south to Qaanaaq in north (77°30’N) both inshore and offshore at depths down to at least 2000 m. The main spawning area is believed to be located in the Davis Strait on the southern slope of the ridge between Greenland and Baffin Island probably at depths > 1500 m. From the spawning area eggs and larvae drifts north along the west coast of Greenland or are brought into Canadian waters by a flection of the West Greenland current. The larvae that drift northward along the west coast of Greenland reach the settling area in SeptemberNovember and settle (goes from pelagic stage to a bottom dwelling stage) at 250-400 m depth. Traditionally larvae settle in Disko Bay on the shelves of northern part of St. Hellefiske Bank, Disko Bank (Smidt 1969, Jørgensen 1997a, Steenberg et al. 2013), and probably on the banks in Baffin Bay to a varying extend, depending on the hydrographic conditions (water temperature and the velocity of the West Greenland current). From the settling areas the Greenland halibut gradually migrates towards deeper water as they grow (Jørgensen 1997a, Steenberg et al. 2013). Offshore in the Davis Strait (Jørgensen 1997a) and in the Baffin Bay (Unpublished tagging data from Greenland Institute of Natural Resources) Greenland halibut gradually migrates towards the spawning area in the Davis Strait. The Greenland halibut stocks located in the inshore areas are probably composed of fish that originally have settled or migrated on the inside of the banks in the Baffin Bay and gradually moved into the fjords as they grow. The Greenland halibut that end up in the Disko Bay and Northwest Greenland fjords remains there and do not contribute to the spawning in Davis Strait (Boje 2002). No significant spawning has been observed in the area, and the stocks are dependent on recruitment from offshore spawning areas. There is little information on spawning in the Baffin Bay (Simonsen & Gundersen 2005) and all though spawning may take place in Baffin Bay it was estimated that the egg and larval mortality is so high due to the low water temperatures that the chance of successful spawning in Baffin Bay is considered low (Steenberg et al. 2013). Surveys During the years there have been conducted a number of bottom trawl surveys aimed at Greenland halibut in Baffin Bay both by Greenland and Canada (Jørgensen 2011, Treble 2011). The most recent survey in Greenland waters in 2010 covered depths between 400 and 9 1500 m to 75° 30’ N. Greenland halibut were found in the entire area (Fig. 1) and has previously been found to 76° 30’ N (Jørgensen 2002). The biomass is equally split between Greenland Canadian waters. Greenland survey data from 2010 showed that the biomass was evenly distributed throughout the survey area (Jørgensen 2011). Surveys are also conducted in inshore areas by gill net and loglines but these surveys are only useable for estimation of CPUE (Catch per unit effort) (Nygaard &Boje 2012). Catches Since the collapse of the cod stock in the mid 80’ies the Greenland halibut resource comprised the major groundfish resource in recent years and the export of Greenland halibut constitute about 25 % of the total export from Greenland only exceeded by the export of shrimp (Statistics Greenland, Statistics for 2011) and the contribution from the fishery to the economy especially in the three inshore areas Upernavik, Uummannaq and Disko Bay is substantial. (Delaney et al. 2012). The catches at Northwest Greenland have been relatively constant in recent years amounting to 6.500 tons offshore in Baffin Bay (same amount in Canadian waters) and about 20.000 tons inshore including Disko Bay (Anon. 2012b). The Greenland halibut catches in the Greenland part of Baffin Bay including the inshore areas constitutes about 60% of the total Greenland halibut catches in Greenland waters (Anon. 2012a, Anon. 2012b ) . 1.2 Northern shrimp Biology The Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) occurs on the continental shelf off West Greenland. The species is distributed from Cape Farewell (60°N) to Qaanaaq (77°30’N) (Bergström 2000). The fishery for Northern shrimp has historically taken place from Cape Farewell to Upernavik (73°N) while the distribution and density of Northern shrimp north of 73°N is not well described (Hammeken Arboe 2012). Northern shrimp is found at depths between 50 m and 1000 m, with the highest densities between 150 m and 500 m (Kingsley 2011). The preferred habitat is muddy bottom and the temperature optimum for Northern shrimp is between 2°C and 4°C. Northern shrimp usually migrates into the water column at night to feed and return to the bottom during the day (Bergström 2000). Shrimps are omnivores, i.e. they live on many different types of food: worms, dead organic material, algae and zooplankton (Horsted & Smidt 1956), and they are themselves food for large fish such as cod and Greenland halibut (Parsons 2005). 16 Fig. 7. Catches of Greenland halibut by quarter. Data from 2010-2012 pooled. Baffin Bay Disko 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (Kg) 1. quater 2010-2012. Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (13) 50000 - 100000 (1) 100000 - 500000 (0) 500000 - 1000000 (0) 1000000 - 1500000 (0) Baffin Bay Disko 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (kg) 2.quarter 2010-2012 Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (11) 50000 - 100000 (0) 100000 - 500000 (0) 500000 - 1000000 (0) 1000000 - 1500000 (0) Disko Baffin Bay 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (Kg) 3. quarter 2010-2012 Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (31) 50000 - 100000 (1) 100000 - 500000 (18) 500000 - 1000000 (5) 1000000 - 1500000 (1) Baffin Bay Disko 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (Kg) 4.quarter 2010-2012 Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (14) 50000 - 100000 (5) 100000 - 500000 (16) 500000 - 1000000 (0) 1000000 - 1500000 (0) 17 Baffin Bay Disko 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (kg) longlines Greenland halibut 0 - 1000 (4) 1000 - 2500 (6) 2500 - 5000 (7) 5000 - 10000 (2) 10000 - 20000 (2) Fig. 8. Distribution of catches of Greenland halibut taken by longline in 2000. Baffin Bay Disko 70°N 72°N 74°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (Kg) Gillnet 2002-2003 Greenland halibut 0 - 1000 (25) 1000 - 5000 (41) 5000 - 10000 (5) 10000 - 50000 (37) 50000 - 100000 (6) Fig. 9. Distribution of catches of Greenland halibut taken by gill net in 2002-2003. Data pooled. 18 3.1 Greenland halibut inshore Description of the fishery The inshore fishery in NAFO Division 1A is concentrated in three main areas: Disko Bay, Uummannaq and Upernavik and the total landings have been about 20.000 tons in recent years (Fig. 10). The fishery is traditionally performed with longline from small open boats (dinghies) or by dog sledges. In the recent 10-15 years bigger vessels (>25 feet) have entered the fishery, but vessel larger than 125 BT are not allowed to fish inside the 3-mile line (inshore). Typically the fishery is carried out in the inner parts of the ice-fjords at depths between 500 and 800 m. In the middle of the 1980s gillnets were introduced to the inshore fishery, and were used more commonly in the following years. Today 90-99 % of the total landings are, however, taken by longlines. The gillnet fishery is regulated by a minimum mesh-size of 110 mm (half meshes), while there are no gear regulations on the longline fishery (Nygaard & Boje 2012). The distribution of the catches inshore of Greenland halibut taken by vessels greater than 30 ft. and reported to GFLK as log books are shown in Fig 11. The fishery with dinghies and dog sledges is conducted in the same areas as the fishery by larger vessels. Year 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Tons 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Disko Bay Uummannaq Upernavik Total inshore Fig. 10. Total catches and catches by area in the inshore Fishery in NAFO Div. 1A. 19 NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko Upernavik Ilulissat Uummannaq 70°N 72°N 74°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catches (Kg) Inshore Greenland halibut 0 - 10000 (83) 10000 - 100000 (66) 100000 - 500000 (22) 500000 - 1000000 (3) 1000000 - 1250000 (1) Fig. 11. Catches inshore of Greenland halibut taken by vessels greater than 30 ft. Data from 2010-2012 pooled. 20 3.3 Northern shrimp Description of the fishery In 1970 a multinational offshore fishery aimed at Northern shrimp was initiated. In the beginning, the fishery concentrated on the wide shelf west and southwest of Disko Bay (Area 6; Fig. 12), but as the fishery expanded in the 1980s, Disko Bay (Area 1-3), Holsteinsborg Deep (Area 7) and northern areas (Area 0 and 4-5) were included in the fishery. During the late 1980s the fishery expanded southwards to Area 8-13. Since the late 1990s the fishery has moved northward and the fishery is now concentrated in Disko Bay and offshore in Baffin Bay (Area 0 and 3-5) (Fig. 13) (Hammmeken Arboe 2012). Fig. 12. Distribution of the inshore and offshore shrimp fishery on a haul by haul basis by fishery areas in the Greenland fishery from July 2011 through June 2012. (Inshore fleet: 12165 hauls. Offshore fleet and Canada: 11435 hauls) (From Hammeken Arboe 2012). Catches in the Baffin Bay area (north of 68°N) has constituted between 60% and 75% of the total catch taken in West Greenland waters during the last 5 years amounting to between 21 82.000 tons and 96.000 tons (Fig. 13). From the late 1990s to 2007 the catches in the Disko Bay area have been between 15.000 tons and 20.000 tons. Since 2008 the catches in the Disko Bay area have been between 30.000 tons and 44.000 tons. The increase in catches taken by the inshore fleet in the Disko Bay Area is consistent with results from the survey, in which the proportion of survey biomass in the Disko Bay has increased significantly since 2005 (Kingsley et al. 2012; Hammeken Arboe 2012). Fig. 13. Catches of Northern shrimp 1997-2011. From 1981 until 2003 the West Greenland fishery was prosecuted by Greenlandic vessels in NAFO Subarea 1 and to Canadian vessels in NAFO Div. 0A, but in 2003 a quota on 1000 tons offshore at West Greenland was allocated to EU vessels. The quota has been increased since then then and is now on 4000 tons (Hammeken Arboe 2012). In recent years catches offshore have mainly been taken by 8-10 large (1860-3377 BT) factory trawlers from Greenland using single and twin trawl. The offshore fleet has to stay 3 n.mi. outside the baseline and is excluded from five closed areas - ‘shrimp boxes’. Further, there are a few (2139-2340 BT) sea-going factory trawlers that are fishing on a coastal quota but also participate in the offshore fishery (G.H. 2002). About 30 small trawlers (most of them less than 250 BT) constitute the inshore fleet. They are fishing on a coastal quota but are allowed to fish everywhere including Disko Bay (Area 1-2; Fig. 12) and the five ‘shrimp boxes’ (Hammeken Arboe 2012). These trawlers fish with a single trawl. The coastal fleet generally ices the catch and lands it for processing. Greenland factory vessels with on-board production licenses are required to land 25% of their catches (Hammeken Arboe 2012). The mean fishing depth in the off shore area in Baffin Bay is 299 m (min. 50 m, max. 624 m, q25% 260 m, q75% 355 m). In the inshore areas the mean fishing depth is 257 m (Kingsley 2011) The fishery for Northern shrimp peaks in 3. quarter where about 31.7 % of the catches are taken, but the fishery has been rather evenly distributed throughout the recent three years with 17.5 %, 21.7% and 29% of the catches in 1., 2., and 4. quarter, respectively (Fig.16). The access to the more northern grounds is restricted by sea-ice in the early part of the year. 22 The distribution of the off shore fishery for Greenland halibut and the fishery for northern shrimp is shown in fig 17. NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 68°N 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (kg) 2010-2012 Northern shrimp 0 - 100000 (303) 100000 - 500000 (129) 500000 - 1000000 (70) 1000000 - 2500000 (67) 2500000 - 6000000 (12) Fig. 14. Distribution of catches of northern shrimp. Data from 2010-2012 pooled. NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 68°N 70°N 72°N 1500 m 1000 m -500 Catch (Kg) 2012 Northern shrimp 0 - 10000 (127) 10000 - 100000 (106) 100000 - 500000 (98) 500000 - 1000000 (36) 1000000 - 2500000 (9) Fig. 15. Distribution of catches of northern shrimp in 2012. Data are preliminary. 23 NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 3. Quarter 68°N 70°N 72°N NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 1. Quarter 68°N 70°N 72°N NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 2. Quarter 68°N 70°N 72°N NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 4. Quarter 68°N 70°N 72°N Catch (Kg) 2010-2012 Northern shrimp 0 - 10000 10000 - 100000 100000 - 500000 500000 - 1000000 10000003000000 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Fig. 16. Distribution of catches of northern shrimp by quarter. Data from 2010-2012 pooled. 24 NAFO1A Baffin Bay Disko 68°N 70°N 72°N Catch (kg) 2010-2012 Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (33) 50000 - 100000 (0) 100000 - 500000 (17) 500000 - 1000000 (7) 1000000 - 2000000 (2) 1500 m 1000 m 500 m Catch (kg) 2010-2012 Northern shrimp 0 - 100000 (303) 100000 - 500000 (129) 500000 - 1000000 (70) 1000000 - 2500000 (67) 2500000 - 6000000 (12) Catch (kg) 2010-2012 Greenland halibut 0 - 50000 (33) 50000 - 100000 (0) 100000 - 500000 (17) 500000 - 1000000 (7) 1000000 - 2000000 (2) Fig. 17. Distribution of catches of northern shrimp and Greenland halibut (off shore). Data from 2010-2012 pooled. 4. Acknowledgement The author would like to thank Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Greenland Government, for funding the report. 25 5. References Anonymous a 2012. ICES. North Western Working Group Report. Anonymous b 2012. NAFO. Scientific Council Reports. Bergström, B. I. 2000. The biology of Pandalus. Advances in Marine Biology vol. 38: 55-245. Delaney, A. E., R. Jakobsen & K. Hendriksen 2012. Greenland Halibut in Upernavik: A preliminary study of the importance of the stock for the fishing populace. Report. Innovative Fisheries Management. Ålborg University. 39 pp. G.H. 2002. Hjemmestyrets bekendtgørelse nr. 23 af 29. august 2002 om geografisk adgang til rejefiskeri på Grønlands fiskeriterritorium. http://www.nanoq.gl/gh.gl-love/dk/2002/bkg/bkg_nr_29-2002_dk.htm Hammeken Arboe, N. 2012 The Fishery for Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) off West Greenland, 1970-2012. NAFO SCR Doc. 12/048 Horsted, S.A., 1978. Life cycle of the shrimp, Pandalus borealis Krøyer, in Greenland waters in relation to the potential yield. ICNAF Selected Papers 4, 51–60. Horsted, S.A. & Smidt, E. 1956. The deep sea prawn (Pandalus borealis Krøyer) in Greenland waters. Medd. Dan. Fisk. Havunders., N.S. 1 (11), 118 pp. Jørgensen, O.A. 1997. Movement Patterns of Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum), at West Greenland, as Inferred from Trawl Survey Distribution and size data. J. Northw. Atl. Sci., 21: 23-37. Jørgensen, O.A. 2002. Survey for Greenland Halibut in NAFO Division 1A-1D, 2001. NAFO SCR Doc. 02/30. Jørgensen, O.A. 2011. Bottom trawl survey in Baffin Bay, NAFO Divisions 1A, 2010. NAFO SCR Doc. 11/10. Jørgensen, O.A & M. A. Treble 2012. Assessment of the Greenland Halibut Stock Component in NAFO Subarea 0 +Division 1A Offshore + Divisions 1B-1F. NAFO SCR Doc. 12/31. Kingsley, M.C. 2011. The Fishery for Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) off West Greenland, 1970-2011. Nafo SCR Doc 11/052. Kingsley, M.C., H. Siegstad & K. Wieland 2012. The West Greenland trawl survey for Pandalus borealis, 2012, with reference to earlier results. NAFO SCR Doc 12/044. Nygaard, R. & J. Boje 2012.