PURPOSE: These data have been updated following a Canadian Science Advice Secretariat (CSAS) Regional Science Advisory Process. Associated publications are available in the citation section below or will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available. DESCRIPTION: Provide a record of commercial and mature female snow crab abundance and biomass in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Female snow crab represents an index of reproductive stock. Snow crab in the southern Gulf are treated as a single stock in the annual assessments. Abundance and biomass estimates for the commercial and female reproductive stock are produced using kriging, a type of spatial analysis. The time series starts in 1997. USE LIMITATION: To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

PURPOSE: Trawl survey data used primarily for assessing the status of snow crab stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. DESCRIPTION: Tow, catch, and biological information for snow crab and other species caught during the annual snow crab research vessel trawl survey in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. PARAMETERS COLLECTED: Snow crab: sex, carapace width, height of male crab claw, shell condition, gonad colour, egg colour, eggs remaining, and missing legs. Other species: counts, and weights Other: GPS coordinates; swept area; depth; temperature; CTD profile; NOTES ON QUALITY CONTROL: Data are checked for irregularities and errors. SAMPLING METHODS: The snow crab bottom trawl survey employs a spatial sampling design that divides the survey area into 355 square grids, each measuring 12.7 km by 12.7 km. Sampling stations are trawled during civil twilight hours using a Bigouden Nephrops bottom trawl net. The vessel operates at a target speed of 2 knots for a duration of 5 minutes, maintaining a warp-to-depth ratio of 3:1, with a maximum warp length of 575 fathoms. Survey catches are sorted by species or taxonomic groups and measured directly on board. USE LIMITATION: To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Summary The Quebec region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is responsible for the assessment of several fish and invertebrate stocks exploited in the Estuary and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The commercial catches sampling program is one of the sources of information used to complete these assessments. The data collected by this program, at wharf or at sea, offers among other things the advantage of a relatively large spatio-temporal coverage and provides some of the necessary knowledge to assess the demography and the structure of the exploited populations. This program is implemented by specialized DFO staff whose main mandate is to collect biological data on groundfish, pelagic fish and marine invertebrate species that are commercially exploited in the various marine communities. Data This dataset on the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) includes the metadata, sample weight, specimen weight, shell width and condition, sex and the right claw height of the specimens measured. This dataset covers the periods of 1984-2003 and 2005 to present. In order to protect the confidentiality of the sources, some informations (such as those concerning the vessel) have been excluded and others (such as the date of capture) have been simplified. Entries where there was only one vessel in a fishing area for a given year were also excluded. Further information including the fishing areas coordinates can be found by clicking on the «Atlantic and Arctic commercial fisheries» and «Fishing areas» links below.

From August 5th to September 3rd, 2012, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 28 stations along four transects. Standardized sampling was conducted at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 30 locations while the ship was underway. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

From August 2nd to September 9th, 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 64 stations along ten transects. Standardized sampling was conducted on the transects at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 72 locations while the ship was underway.Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

Between 2017 and 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope in August and early September each year. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 144 stations along nine multi-year transects, and 32 non-transect stations. Standardized sampling was conducted at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

From August 6th to September 9th, 2014, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 56 stations along thirteen transects, with an additional three stations not located on transects. Standardized sampling was conducted on the transects at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.