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 are considered resilient to fishing because they mature young and have a relatively short lifespan. Females are 100% mature at age 3, and the maximum known age is 14 years, with females becoming larger and living longer than males. Inherent vulnerability is a “low” conservation concern.

Information reported in this section refers to fisheries in the Gulf of Maine (GOM)and on Georges Bank. There are also five Haddock fishing areas off the East coast of Canada of which only two are presently open. In Canada, Haddock landings have declined by almost one-third over the past decade. On the Georges Bank, the population dropped drastically in the early 1960s from about 50 000 – 100 000 mt of spawning females to a population with 10 000 – 75 000 mts of spawning females. In the late 1990s, both this population and the GOM stock showed increases in abundance and recruitment, believed to be the result of favourable spawning and juvenile survivorship, coupled with strict management measures implemented in 1995 that have eliminated overfishing. Low numbers still pose a “high” conservation concern, but may now increase in the absence of overfishing.

A small fraction of haddock is caught with bottom longlines, also called hook and line gear. There are no data to either support or refute the present assumption that, like other hook and line fisheries, bottom longlining should have minimal effects on species at risk. Bottom longlining may however, catch undersized haddock, which might result in discards of unacceptably small animals, below size limits. Bycatch is considered a “low” conservation concern.

Bottom longlining is assumed to have minimal to no direct effects on the integrity of bottom structure. The effects of removing large amounts of biomass in the form of demersal fishes is suspected to have shifted the Northeast Atlantic ecosystem from dominance by bottom fish towards an open ocean fish community with more bottom invertebrates. In addition to fishing, natural and human-induced environmental impacts such as temperature shifts may also be affecting the structure of this ecosystem. Habitat and ecosystem effects are considered a “low” conservation concern.

Many measures have been implemented to manage Haddock – particularly the trawl fishery – but these have not prevented declines of Haddock stocks. Until stocks have fully recovered, these methods can only be considered moderately effective. Managers of the Northeastern Groundfish resources assess Haddock frequently (annually or semi-annually), comparing current information to know biological reference points. Mesh size rules, regulations on gear to reduce discard, as well as seasonal and permanent closures are all used to manage Haddock. Management is a “moderate” conservation in the US Atlantic Haddock fishery.

How was this Haddock caught?

Trawl-caught Haddock should be avoided.

Contaminant levels do not warrant a consumption advisory.

No.