A study released last week by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) gives new reasons for the snow crab industry to worry. It says the biomass of the crustaceans over a recent six-year period was the lowest it’s been in 25 years, according to several media reports.
Though snow crab quotas are usually set in the spring, the study suggests more cuts could be coming in 2019, the Western Star, a Newfoundland and Labrador newspaper suggests.
The study was released at the same time DFO announced the snow crab fishery was moving to a more conservative “precautionary approach”, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Darrell Mullowney, the DFO scientist who led the study, which used multiple indicators, including female egg clutches, catch rates and discard rates, is quoted as saying that the study found snow crab “exploitation rates have gone up in some areas," as the biomass estimate is going down.
