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

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 s

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 gover

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 w

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—

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  Ideally, in any kind of fishery, when you assess or manage a fish stock, it is important to measure the mortality caused by fishing, to know precisely how much has been caught. In the case of mackerel, there are several uncertainties that prevent us from having an accurate estim