Return of the redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence 



This research program funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Ressources Aquatiques Québec (RAQ) through DFO's Partnership Fund, aims to reveal the causes and impacts of the current explosion of the deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.



After a dramatic collapse in the early 1990s, the redfish stock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) remained at low levels for 2 decades, until the recruitment regime drastically shifted in the early 2010s. In 2011, the deepwater redfish produced a record year class, followed by other strong annual cohorts in the 2012-2015 period. This sudden change in recruitment regime resulted in a massive number of growing juvenile redfish in the GLS ecosystem. 

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Some of the specific objectives of this partnership program include the study of recruitment drivers and the link between environment variability and larval survival (Corinne Burns, Félix Lauzon), the trophic role of redfish within the food web and impact on other commercial species such as Northern shrimp (Sarah Brown Vuillemin, Joan Lamare), and the assessment of connectivity or isolation among individuals distributing in the different sectors of the GSL (Lola Coussau). Components of the project led by collaborators include the assessment of population structure through genomics, the study of spatial variability in growth potential within the GSL, and the social-economic impact of redfish return on coastal fishing communities.

 

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