According to the information available this fishery formerly known as the Harmonised Area SFA 8, Canada northern prawn fishery and is now certified as sustainable on the 30th March 2009. The species of this fishery is prawn (Pandalus borealis) and the location is SFA 8 (Esquiman Channel). The fishing methods used in this fishery is Otter trawl and the vessels include Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland permitted vessels fishing in Shrimp Fishing Areas 8 waters, landing in Quebec, New Brunswick or Newfoundland ports.
Pandalus borealis (the candidate shrimp species also known as northern shrimp) is distributed in boreal regions throughout the Atlantic Ocean. It typically occurs in high salinity waters with temperature in the range of 0-5C on soft mud or sand/silt bottoms at depths of 50-500m. It is informed that the species is found throughout the northwest Atlantic Ocean including the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the St. Lawrence River estuary, primarily at depths of 150 to 350m.
It is found that egg-bearing females concentrate in specific areas within the shallower part of the range in winter and release their larvae there in spring before dispersing to deeper waters. It is noticed that the wide distribution of prawn fishing occurs because prawn are abundant over a vast area from southern Nova Scotia to Baffin Island. Prawn trawlers work the muddy bottoms using otter trawls with a minimum mesh size of 40 mm, and fitted with a Nordmore separator grate. Prawn pass through the grate, but ground fish with swim bladders are directed upwards towards an exit triangle in the upper panel.
The main commercial market for this fishery is the inshore fleet focuses on the shell-off cooked and peeled product, which is primarily processed on land. Predominant markets are in the US and Europe. Due to an overlap of certification assessments of the Canadian Northern Prawn Fisheries and Gulf of St Lawrence Northern Shrimp a harmonised process has been agreed between TAVEL Certification Inc. and Moody Marine Ltd., to coordinate certification activities in the Shrimp Fishing Area 8 (SFA 8).
