Atlantic Herring Fecundity Trends in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Fecundity data for 4TVn Atlantic Herring was collected in the early 1970s, 1980s, and 2022. Fisheries and Oceans Canada used this data to examine temporal declines in fecundity and estimate size-fecundity relationships for spawning components.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal declines in fecundity across the three collection periods (early 1970s, 1980s, 2022).
• Estimate size-fecundity relationships for different spawning components within the population.
• Model potential reproductive output for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic herring stock.

Strengths

• Data spans three distinct time periods over approximately 50 years, enabling long-term trend analysis.
• Focuses on a specific, well-defined stock (4TVn Atlantic Herring) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Produced by the authoritative national agency for fisheries science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Limitations

• Sample size and row count are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Specific measured variables and column definitions are not provided in the input.
• Data collection intervals are irregular, with a multi-decade gap between the 1980s and 2022.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Field collection of Atlantic Herring fecundity data.

Time Range

Early 1970s, 1980s, and 2022.

Freshness

Data includes observations from 2022 and the dataset metadata was updated in March 2026.

Geography

Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (4TVn stock area).