RESULTS OF LATEST SNOW CRAB ASSESSMENT
February 25, 2025. ST. JOHN’S, NL – Today, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) released the latest stock assessment update for Newfoundland and Labrador’s snow crab fishery, reporting differences in stock health among regions. Attending on behalf of FFAW- Unifor were Fisheries Scientist, Dr. Erin Carruthers, with harvesters Nelson Bussey and Chad Waterman (3LNO), Scott Spurvey (3Ps), Eldred Woodford (3K), as well as Alton Rumbolt who participated online (2J).
Nelson Bussey highlighted the good news for 3LNO noting that, “Biomass levels are at the highest levels seen in decades, likely, in part, because we have maintained reasonable exploitation levels. There appears to be scope for growth, which is welcome news for the fleets in our areas.”
In general, the updated science assessment showed what we are seeing on the water in 3L, with continued high catch rates that held steady throughout the fishing season,” Chad Waterman reported. He also highlighted the importance of having harvesters contribute to stock assessments because, “sometimes what DFO sees what we see is different. For example, DFO Science reports little incoming recruitment but we are seeing recruitment in 3L. It's just not showing up in their numbers.”
Assessment results were more of a mixed bag for other regions. Crab in 3Ps remained in the healthy zone of the PA framework, but as crab harvesters in 3Ps know, catch rates declined and the full allocation was not landed in 2024. These changes reflected decreases in biomass and increases in the exploitation rate. “There are exploitation rate limits within each zone of the snow crab PA Framework, which are meant to help ensure that the fishery remains healthy and is proportional to the available biomass,” explains Dr. Erin Carruthers.
Snow crab in 3K and 2J are projected to be in the cautious zone and both regions are struggling against high levels of predation by groundfish. While catch rates and some trap survey data were reported for 4R3Pn, there is not enough information from this region to include it in the PA framework.
“DFO Science has been reporting poor recruitment for many years now, but our fishery has remained strong. We are working to ensure the snow crab fishery remains healthy for many generations to come,” says FFAW-Unifor President Dwan Street.
For media inquiries, please contact Nick Travis at 709-576-7276 or at [email protected].
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