Spanish research vessel Vizconde de Eza has sailed from St Johns in Canada to carry out a survey of Greenland halibut on the Grand Banks that will carry through to the end of August.
This Greenland Halibut 3L 2023 survey is the latest of the season in the North West Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) zone to evaluate demersal stocks. The objectives of this survey are to assess the abundance and biomass indices, to determine population structure and obtain of biological and trophic information on the Greenland halibut and other species, while also collecting oceanographic data.
The scientific direction of the survey is held by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).
This survey will run until 27th August, when Vizconde de Eza will head back to Vigo, having fully covered the area in which the Spanish fleet carries out fisheries for important demersal species.
This type of bottom trawling surveys are one of the main methods of direct study of the exploited fishing populations, which provide independent data for scientific analysis, enabling management decisions to be made.
The information obtained is used by the NAFO Scientific Council to assess the fishing resources of interest to the Spanish fleet – in addition to providing essential information for various biological and ecological studies of the area.
Greenland Halibut 3L 2023 is the seventeenth survey of this kind to be carried out in this productive fishing area.
