by

• Main Author: W. R. Bowering
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Greenland; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.619.9797; http://archive.nafo.int/open/sc/2002/scr02-024.pdf

Greenland halibut are widely distributed throughout the Labrador-eastern Newfoundland area. During the late-1970s and most of the 1980s they were found in relatively high abundance along the deep slopes of the continental shelf particularly in Division 2G. They were similarly plentiful in the deep channels running between the fishing banks especially in Div. 2H, 2J and 3K. By 1991 distribution in the northern areas was greatly reduced and most of the resource was located in Div. 3K and along the north slope of Div. 3L and to some degree Div. 3N. By 1996-2001 distribution to some areas of historically high abundance off southern and central Labrador as well as northeast Newfoundland again began to occur. In Div. 2J and 3K where most of the Greenland halibut resource resides the stock biomass was relatively stable until the mid-1980s after which it declined substantially to reach an all time low in the early-1990s with the disappearance of older fish from the population. From about 1995 the stock showed considerable recovery and continued to improve to 1999 based upon several good successive year-classes particularly 1993-95. The fishable biomass (>30 cm) has declined somewhat since 1999 while the spawning stock biomass estimates remain well below those of the 1980s.