At Sea Sampling on Eastern Shore and South West Nova Scotia

Fishermen and Scientists Research Society has a long history of quality sampling along the Nova Scotia coastline related to various FSRS and external projects. The FSRS works toward several goals through collaborative research between stakeholders concerned with the long-term sustainability of Atlantic fisheries. We do so through the collection of accurate information, with the aim of protecting fish stocks, maintaining the viability of coastal communities, and ultimately, ensuring a sustainable fishery.

Sea sampling programs place trained technicians onto commercial lobster boats. Catch and effort information is collected, and biological data is recorded for each lobster caught. The data collected reflects what comes up in that lobsterman’s trap for that day of the year. Compiling this data enables scientists to see geographic, temporal and biological trends in the near shore lobster fishery. Discarded lobsters, V-notches and sublegals, represent an important component of sea sampling data. Currently, there are two types of sampling designs: fishery-dependent and fishery- independent. Both sea sampling and port sampling are considered fishery-dependent modes of data collection and both track trends within the lobster fishery. Port sampling data provides a look at the legal lobster catch, while sea sampling data captures the total catch, including discarded lobsters and by-catch. The FSRS has a detailed sampling protocol which is followed through with all of our sampling projects to ensure consistent, quality data collection and analysis.

Budget Costing

Budget costing for FSRS technicians to perform the at sea samples is dependent on technician used for the sampling, travel and living costs and time at sea.