Fisheries committee  In fact, there are two things to consider. Firstly, the fish are schooling, even when there are not many of them. So you always see them somewhere at some point, even if there are fewer than before. Secondly, the fish today are very small. You don't see big mackerel anymore, or very few, which is really another sign that the stock is dying.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  Well, actually, there's always a possibility. Actually, I was part of a sampling team to try to catch larvae in that part of Newfoundland a few years ago. We were not able to catch large amounts of larvae or eggs. There is spawning, and we regularly measure spawning outside the southern Gulf of St.

Fisheries committee  We don't know that. Unfortunately, there has not been a formal study on the natural mortality of mackerel. There is on herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but not on mackerel. That is a point that we could raise here. That data is needed.

Fisheries committee  It's the measure of abundance that's key here, and the data on that comes from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Individual researchers like myself do more of a large-scale survey. Once I get the data from the department, I evaluate it with a group of university researchers and government scientists, we come to a consensus on the quality of the data and that's how we move forward.

Fisheries committee  Yes, that's right. The abundance had become too low to allow a return of the stock.

Fisheries committee  No. The state of the autumn herring stock is better than the spring herring. The trend is similar for several other fall stocks compared to spring stocks in the Northwest Atlantic.

Fisheries committee  It's a bit of the same issue as mackerel, currently. The data shows a mismatch between the stocks and their prey. In the past, prey for young fish was more concentrated in the spring, when conditions are cold. When conditions are warm, fall herring benefit most from the overlap with prey.

Fisheries committee  I'm usually a participant, yes, but not on all of them.

Fisheries committee  The last time it was done I was there online.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  Yes, we say at least 7°C, and that the maximum is about 14°C. That's about the maximum range. I think perhaps the values that you gave are probably peak optimal temperatures.

Fisheries committee  Exactly. Yes, timing is important. The reason the survey goes on from mid-June to late June—it's about a two-week survey—is that this is the time when, on average, most of the spawners are in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. In some years, because of an anomaly with the survey—for example, the vessel is not able to get there on time because of a breakdown or something like that—it is not considered in the time series as an abundance survey, so it is discarded.

Fisheries committee  Yes, exactly. We know the mackerel are migrating and following temperature streams, as you mentioned. They are following the 7°C isotherms when they migrate into eastern Canada. In the summer—

Fisheries committee  It is always good to have a management plan that takes climate change into account. However, in the case of mackerel and similar species, the variation in conditions from year to year is very difficult to predict. Currently, the climate is tending to warm up, but there will still be years that are colder than others.