Redfish Zonal Assessment Process

From the industry survey, the locations of catches by the Canadian fishery, and the presence of foreign fleets all suggest that the fish have moved to a warmer area 3O, along the Shelf break. [...] With regard to impact on the changes in distribution may have on vulnerability to fishing, it was reported that the trend in the data from the Campelen net (converted for selectivity differences from the Engels) suggests that there seems to be a progressive decline in data from the spring, but stability in fall. [...] DISCUSSION - In response to a question about the reasons for the selected sampling sites, the basis was given as results of earlier surveys and the desire to match the main historical distribution of mentella in the Gulf. [...] It was also noted that if the survey ever did find the large adults, the small size of the strata along the shelf break means that they would contribute little to the total estimated SSB. [...] The 1980 year-class, which has comprised the bulk of the commercial catches in the 1990s, accounted for 30 % of the survey abundance but 60 % of the survey biomass.