Senegalese EEZ - Key Species
Bigeye grunt (Brachydeuterus auritus)
This species is caught only with bottom trawls, gillnets, set nets and purse seines. The fish species is marketed fresh, smoked and reduced to fishmeal. However, it is reported to be discarded in some countries like Senegal.]]>
White grouper (Epinephelus aeneus)
E. aeneus is distributed throughout the southern Mediterranean and along the west coast of Africa to southern Angola. The seasonal migration of the species off the coast of Senegal is influenced by the seasonal upwelling off Senegal and Mauritania. White grouper is caught with hooks and lines and in trawls, is utilized fresh and smoked, and is highly prized in the market of West Africa.
E. aeneus is of considerable economic importance in fisheries of the Mediterranean and west coast of Africa.]]>
Lesser African threadfin (Galeoides decadactylus)
Senegalese hake (Merluccius senegalensis)
M. merluccius in the north and that of M. polli in the south.
The Senegalese hake lives close to the bottom in shallow depths from about 18 to 500 m.
Spawning probably occurs from January to March in about 300 m water depth, at temperatures of about 12°C. It feeds mainly on small fishes, and to a lesser extent on crustaceans and cephalopods.
This species is taken by bottom trawls in offshore grounds off Mauritania and Senegal, together with two other hakes (M. merluccius and M. polli), most commonly by means of "demersal bottom trawling" and "hake trawling".
This species is considered highly vulnerable.]]>
Smooth-hound (Mustelus mustelus)
Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
O. vulgaris (between 40 000 and 50 000 t) were taken by Spanish vessels on the Sahara Banks off West Africa, Fishing Area 34. The species is highly desirable, fetches high prices throughout its distributional range and supports artisanal as well as industrial fisheries. It is taken mainly with lures, hooks and lines, pots, spears and otter trawls.
Octopus is marketed fresh, frozen, and dried and salted, mostly for human consumption.]]>
Red pandora (Pagellus bellottii)
Dentex macrophthalmus, this is the most abundant sparid species on the West African coast. The species is caught with bottom trawls, using line gear and in traps (Canary Islands).
The flesh is highly prized. The species is marketed fresh, smoked or frozen and it is also used for fishmeal and oil.]]>
Southern pink shrimp (Penaeus notialis)
Pink shrimp supports important fisheries in West Africa, both local fisheries and foreign trawlers. The total catch reported to FAO for this species in 1999 was 34 900 t. The countries with the largest catches were Nigeria (27 341 t) and Senegal (4 887 t).]]>
Round sardinella (Sardinella aurita)
Sardinella species (especially of S. brasiliensis western Atlantic).
The total catch for 1983 was 702 775 t; 15 209 t in the Mediterrranean (mixed with S. maderensis), 401 039 t in West Africa (mixed with S. maderensis) and 286 527 t in the western Atlantic where it is mixed with S. brasiliensis).The total catch reported to FAO for this species in 1999 was 480 508 t. The countries with the largest catches were the Russian Federation (109 445 t), Senegal (93 512 t) and Ghana (57 170 t).]]>
Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
The worlds single largest breeding population of grey seals is located on Sable Island, on the eastern Scotian Shelf. Over the past three or four decades, the numbers of grey seals on the Scotian Shelf and Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence have increased dramatically. The greatest increase is associated with the Sable Island colony, the largest worldwide, near the edge of the eastern Scotian Shelf. Population numbers of the Sable Island colony have increased exponentially at an annual rate of 13% per year for the past four decades (Bowen et al. 2003). The grey seal is a medium body-size and size-dimorphic member of the Family Phocidae, with males being about 50% heavier than females. They are long-lived (~ 40 years) and thus individuals must have evolved to cope with variability at various temporal (months to decades) and spatial scales (<1 km to 1000 km). Most females give birth each year to a single pup, beginning at age 4 years and continuing for several decades. Although wide-ranging, grey seals are non-migratory, but do show seasonal changes in distribution. Grey seals are an important predator on the eastern Scotian Shelf, but there is little overlap with fisheries.
Cod (Gadus morhua)
Atlantic cod is a bottom dwelling North Atlantic fish. Cod range from Georges Bank to northern Labrador in the Canadian Atlantic. There are several concentrations of cod within this range, including those on the eastern Scotian Shelf in NAFO Divisions 4VsW. Juvenile cod feed on a wide variety of invertebrates and as they grow include fish in their diet. Cod has supported a commercial fishery in this area since the 1700s, but with greatly increased intensity since the post-war period in the 1950s, mainly by large off-shore fishing trawlers. Due to the high level of fishing intensity, there was an overall decline in landings over this time period, culminating in a dramatic stock collapse in 1993. The fishery has remained closed to commercial fishing since then, with a by-catch allowance in other fisheries.
Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinnus)
Haddock are found on both sides of the North Atlantic. In the west Atlantic, they occur from southwest Greenland to Cape Hatteras. A major stock exists in the southern Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy area. This bottom-dwelling species is a member of the cod family and feeds mainly on small invertebrates. It is most common at depths of 25-125 fathoms (46-228m) and in bottom temperatures above 2oC. Although seasonal migrations are evident within the stock area, there is relatively little exchange between adjacent haddock stocks. The directed fishery for haddock in the FAO subregions 4T, 4V and 4W was closed in 1993 and has not been re-opened in spite of some rebuilding. A Test Fishery was conducted in 2004 to investigate the potential of 4TVW haddock for harvest if the minimum size, currenlyt 43 cm, was dropped to a smaller size to make more of the haddock available. Both total and spawning biomass are near the long term average. However, this rebuilding is dominated by small fish as the growth rate has steadily fallen since the early 1980s.
Herring (Clupea harengus)
Atlantic herring is a pelagic species found on both sides of the North Atlantic. Herring spawn in discrete locations, to which they are presumed to home. Herring first mature and spawn at three or four years of age (23 to 28 cm or 9 to 11 in), then begin an annual pattern of spawning, overwintering, and summer feeding, which often involves considerable migration and mixing with members of other spawning groups. Most fishing takes place on dense summer feeding, overwintering, and spawning aggregations. Since 1996, a fishery has taken place on feeding aggregations on the offshore banks of the eastern Scotian shelf, primarily in May and June, with catches ranging from 1,000 to 20,000t. Total landings in 2005 were 5,200t with most landings by purse seine in May and June.
Pollock (Pollachius virens)
Pollock in the western Atlantic range from southern Labrador to about Cape Hatteras. The main fishable concentrations occur on the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. Young pollock are closely associated with nearshore habitats, recruiting to the offshore populations at around age 2. Based on observations by fishermen and acoustic studies, pollock spend the least time on the bottom of all the cod-like fish. Pollock show strong schooling behaviour. Food of adult pollock include euphausiids and fish such as herring, sand lance and silver hake. A variety of fishing gear is used to fish pollock, primarily otter trawl and gillnets, but also handlines and longlines. Pollock are also landed as by-catch in the small-mesh silver hake and redfish fisheries. The species is considered to be fully exploited.
Porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus)
The porbeagle shark is a large cold-temperate pelagic shark species of the family Lamnidae that occurs in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans. The species range extends from Newfoundland to New Jersey and possibly to South Carolina in the west Atlantic, and from Iceland and the western Barents Sea to Morocco and the Mediterranean in the east Atlantic. The porbeagle has a low fecundity, late age at sexual maturation and low natural mortality. Age at maturity is about eight years in males and about thirteen years in females. In the northwest Atlantic, mating occurs from September through November, and live birth occurs 8 to 9 months later. Reproduction is thought to occur annually. Litter sizes range from 2 to 6 young and average about four. The porbeagle life span is estimated to be between 25 and 46 years and generation time is about 18 years.
In 2004, porbeagle sharks were designated as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and are being considered for listing on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act. This designation was based on the status of the population to 2001. At this time, the Northwest Atlantic population of porbeagle shark had been significantly affected by fishing pressure. Abundance of the population was low; it was estimated at about 4,400t which corresponded to 11% of the virgin biomass in 1961. The porbeagle population was considered to be at risk due to its low population growth rate and by exploitation.
Red fish (Sebastes fasciatus)
Redfish, also known as ocean perch, are long-lived, slow growing, semi-pelagic fish that occur in depths from 100 - 700m. Unlike most other marine teleost fish species, redfish are viviparous. Mating occurs in the fall and females release live young from April to July. They reach a commercial age at approximately 8 to 10 years at a length of 25 cm. They are distributed on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the eastern Scotian shelf, the stocks consist of a mixture of Sebastes mentella, which is the predominant species, occurring in deep water basins and along the shelf edge and S. fasciatus, which occurs in deeper waters off the continental shelf. Differences between these species are not obvious, and therefore they are not separated by species in the catch. Redfish are considered to be fully exploited.
Sand lance (Ammodytus dubius)
Sand lance are small, semi-demersal fish whose range extends from West Greenland to Cape Hatteras in the USA. They are abundant in areas where the bottom substrate consists of sand and fine gravel where they burrow. They feed pelagically and have an important role as a forage species on the eastern Scotian Shelf. Since the late 1980s, and the decline of gadid species, the abundance of sand lance has increased greatly on the eastern Scotian Shelf.
Shrimp (Pandalus borealis)
The northern or pink shrimp, Pandalus borealis, is the only shrimp species of commercial importance in the Maritimes Region. Shrimp concentrate in deep "holes" on the eastern Scotian Shelf, but nearshore concentrations along coastlines closest to the offshore populations were discovered by 1998. They prefer temperatures of 2 to 6 ºC, and a soft, muddy bottom with a high organic content. The trawl fishery on the Scotian Shelf occurs during summer in the deep offshore shrimp holes, and on an inshore area. The main management tools are limits on the number of licenses and size of vessels used, minimum codend mesh size (40mm), use of a Nordmøre separator grate, and a Total Allowable Catch (TAC). Shrimp are caught mainly by trawlers, but there is also an inshore trap fishery. All licenses except traps operate under ITQs.