Haddock

Haddock, Scrod

Haddock is a demersal (bottom-dwelling) species in the family Gadidae, which are known as the “true cods”. Like many other gadoids (cod, hake, pollock, whiting), it is a commercially important groundfish species. Haddock is distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean, and in the Northwest Atlantic ranges from Labrador to Cape Charles, Virginia. Haddock are usually found in 45 to 135m of water and in bottom temperatures between 2° and 10°C. Adult Haddock range in size from about 30cm to up to 1m, and most commercially caught Haddock weigh from 1 to 3kg. The maximum known age for Haddock is 14 years, but only a small proportion of animals survive past age 9. Haddock are highly fecund, and adult female egg production increases substantially with age, from a few hundred thousand eggs each year in the youngest spawners up to three million eggs in the oldest spawners. Haddock have a broad diet, which varies by locality. Among other things, they consume echinoderms (mainly brittle stars), crustaceans, polychaetes, bivalve and gastropod mollusks, and fishes (mostly herring eggs). Juveniles are preyed upon by several fish species including other gadoids while adult Haddock are preyed upon by Gray seals.

In Canada, there are several haddock stocks including one in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and eastern Scotian Shelf, a major one on the eastern Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy, and a major transboundary stock on Georges Bank. Although some Haddock stocks undertake seasonal migrations within their areas, there is thought to be relatively little exchange of individuals among the different stocks.

Haddock is an early maturing that is inherently resilient to fishing pressure. Heavy fishing pressure, however, has acted as a strong selective force to decrease the size and age at maturity, which may adversely impact recruitment and natural mortality.

Three separate Haddock stocks are currently managed in Canada: the eastern Scotian Shelf & southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST), southern Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy (4X/5Y), and a transboundary eastern Georges Bank (5Ze) stock that is co-managed with the U.S. All three haddock stocks have been significantly overexploited and can be considered to be recovering from overfishing.There has been a significant size and age at maturity shift, suggesting genetic changes in the stock. This may be a result of selective fishing for large haddock.

Nature and extent of discarded bycatch
Trawling, the primary fishing method for haddock, catches several other species as bycatch, including cod and cusk, which are assessed as Special Concern and Threatened respectively by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). There is concern that bycatch in the haddock fishery may impair rebuilding of cod populations.

The effects of trawling on various habitat types where haddock are found combined with the substantial amount of fishing effort along the Canada’s Atlantic continental shelf over the past 50 years, indicate that trawling for groundfish (including haddock) has significantly altered or damaged a large portion of the seabed and the ecosystem. The effects of these fishing practices on habitats and ecosystems are therefore considered a high conservation concern and this criterion merits a red ranking.

Management is facilitating rebuilding of haddock stocks from the most recent crash, but has not prevented extreme declines of haddock stocks in the past. Until all three stocks are fully recovered and management can demonstrate that it does not allow overfishing to begin once more, it can be considered only moderately effective. In addition, management does not consider the fishing gear impacts or adequately address bycatch and discards in the trawl fishery.

How is this fish caught – by hook and line or by trawl?

Contaminant levels do not warrant a consumption advisory.

No.