The department’s science advisory report for cod stocks failed to indicate the total allowable catch (TAC) in the division 3Ps that will be increased this year. Earlier the TAC has been set for 13,000 tones for this year, down from 20,000 tonnes in 2000, and 15,000 tonnes for the next five years, until being reduced to 13,000 tonnes for the 2006/07 and 2007/08 management years.
The report even fails to assess the estimation of total absolute biomass and abundance and therefore the impacts of fishing at specific TAC levels could not be quantified. But the report indicates that the inshore fishermen in the zone feel current catch rates are average high. It also reported that the length range of cod caught in commercial gear has widened which indicates good recruitment.
Acceding to the report the fishermen are more concerned about the potential impacts of ongoing seismic surveys, and that caplin and squid abundance are at low levels and are continuing to decline. It says that the stocks of Mackerel are good and increasing but there was no clear consensus on herring abundance.
