CAN WE STOP THE ATLANTIC LOBSTER FISHERY GOING THE WAY OF NEWFOUNDLAND’S ATLANTIC COD? A PERSPECTIVE

• Published in: Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (NSIS)
• Main Author: Corkett, Christopher J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nova Scotian Institute of Science (NSIS) 2011
• Subjects: Canada; atlantic cod
• Online Access: https://ojs.library.dal.ca/nsis/article/view/nsis46-2corkett; https://doi.org/10.15273/pnsis.v46i2.4057

The cod and lobster fisheries of Atlantic Canada are managed in verydifferent ways. Regulatory policy for Atlantic cod has traditionally beenbased on population or biomass measurements, something that has neverbeen done for the management of Atlantic Canada’s lobster. While thesetraditional methods differ, an alternate logical or analytic approach tomanagement is perhaps one way that sound and rational fisheries can bemanaged. The recommendations that follow derive from asking: can welearn analytic lessons from the collapse of Atlantic cod that might allow usto avoid a similar collapse in Atlantic lobster? A landings-per-unit-of-effort(LPUE) index could be constructed for the lobster industry that wouldprovide a continuous trend over time. This trend would form an effectivefeedback model; a declining trend over time would indicate the goal ofsustainability was in jeopardy, whereas a level or increasing trend overtime would indicate that the industry was maintaining its sustainability.Crucially, an LPUE index should only be used as an argument a posterioriinvolving feedback in the form of trends. This index should never be usedas an argument a priori to estimate lobster abundance or lobster biomass