Enhancing the development and sustainability of Greenland halibut fisheries in a rapidly changing Arctic.

Fisheries are a fundamental contributor to socio-economic growth in northern Canadian communities and are a management priority considering limited alternative economic opportunities available in the region. The proposed research aligns with core research needs of industry/resource managers to meet three objectives: 1. examine movement dynamics, habitat-use, and bycatch hotspots to aid development of community-based Greenland halibut fisheries in Pond Inlet, 2: measure emigration and mortality rates of Greenland halibut from Cumberland Sound to evaluate connectivity with offshore commercial fisheries to support ongoing stock assessment, 3) provide a robust evaluation of the current region proposed as the principle spawning ground through examining movement dynamics and connectivity of Greenland halibut in the northern Davis strait. We will use acoustic telemetry and a combination of existing (>1400 tagged fish, >140 acoustic receiver stations) and newly collected data to meet these objectives. This work will aid the development of community-based fisheries by providing priority information for sustainable growth and accurate stock assessment and to promote equitable quotas. Equally, through characterizing inshore-offshore connectivity and evaluating and quantifying the use and periodicity of spawning grounds, this work will provide improved knowledge to manage the overall inshore-offshore Greenland halibut stock.

Faculty Supervisor:

Nigel Hussey

Student:

Daniel James Madigan

Partner:

Nunavut Fisheries Association

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Windsor