Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Knowledge of why depleted fish stocks are not all recovering as anticipated is crucial to future management of fisheries. Recent research indicates that depleted stocks may exhibit different growth and reproduction patterns than healthy stocks. Some depleted stocks have responded quickly to protection from fishing, in accordance with their historical performance, while others have not. The reasons for these differences are thought to be of great importance for better understanding and prediction of stock rebuilding. To date, most predictions, based on faulty ecological assumptions, have proved groundless. This research proposes to use a comparative approach to identify, quantify and model the factors that influence growth and reproduction (productivity) in depleted fish stocks. The focus will be on the depleted cod stocks of Newfoundland and Labrador, some of which are reproducing and growing at near-historical rates, and some of which show poor or no productivity. Comparisons will be used as the basis for testing alternative ideas about why adjacent and depleted stocks respond differently. It is expected that the modeling aspects will lead to new insights into how the life history strategies evident among the various groups are related to population responses under depleted conditions. Comparisons will also be drawn to other regions where similar situations exist.