September 16, 2013 — In the 1950s and early 1960s, haddock stocks in North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) areas 3Ps and 3LNO supported a substantial Newfoundland fishery. It was reported in 1955, for example, that the landings of haddock from NAFO 3Ps totalled 58,000 tonnes.
Haddock on the south coast of Newfoundland in NAFP Division 3Ps is under moratorium and catches are limited to small amounts of by-catch in other groundfish fisheries.
The last Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) assessment on the species was completed in 2001.
Thanks in large part to acoustic surveys conducted in 3Ps in 2012 and 2013 by the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research of the Fisheries (CFER) of the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University, which suggested that the haddock might be making a comeback in 3Ps, the provincial government is providing $25,000 for CFER to pursue research into the abundance of haddock off the south coast of the province.
Dr. Sherrylynn Rowe is a research scientist with the CFER.
While the CFER's 2102 survey focused on cod, Dr. Rowe said that research scientists aboard the 'RV Celtic Explorer' were surprised with the notable catches of haddock in 3Ps.
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