January 23, 2017 — Exactly how many of the haddock that hatched in 2013 are still swimming off the coast of southern Nova Scotia is not certain, but researchers agree the numbers are potentially massive.
Biologist Monica Finley recently completed a population assessment for the southern Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy.
She estimates 264 million haddock were hatched there in 2013 and survived their first year, making it an “extraordinary” year-class.
“This 2013 year-class is five times higher than the next highest on record since 1985,” said Finley, who works at a Department of Fisheries and Oceans research facility in St. Andrews, N.B.
Her report predicts 100,000 metric tonnes of haddock will reach adulthood in 2017 and 2018.
Bring on the boom
On Georges Bank, the population is predicted to be even bigger, with Canadian and American scientists estimating the 2013 hatch at 1.3 billion fish.
This month, fish plants in southern Nova Scotia are starting to process their first catches of 2013 haddock, forerunners of what industry members hope is a boom for years to come.
“We’re seeing signs of it now, but we would expect to see the fish at the larger, more commercially harvestable sizes in a couple of years,” said Alain d’Entremont, chief operating officer at O’Neil Fisheries in Digby.
“We are taking a cautious path to that harvest.”