Preliminary results for the 2020 Commercial Fishing season in Quebec

Landed Price

The Quebec fishing industry was not spared by COVID-19 in 2020. The pandemic took an especially heavy toll on landed prices, which fell by 30% overall. The three main species landed were among the hardest hit: shrimp (-36%), snow crab (-32%) and lobster (-25%). Other species fared much better: Greenland halibut (+12%), sea urchin (+11%) and Stimpson’s surf clam (+9%).

Total Landings

Landings remained stable in 2020, at 46,245 tonnes, an increase of 1% from 2019. However, there were noticeable differences among the species: for example, landings of snow crab decreased by 13% in 2020 whereas shrimp and lobster posted increases of 29% and 6%, respectively.

Based on preliminary data (as of March 9, 2021), the value of landings was $270 million in 2020, down 29% from 2019. Landed value decreased by a more modest 4.9% when compared with the average for the last eight years.

Marine Sectors

In terms of value, 50% of the landings were from the Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence area ($136M) in 2020, 33% from the Magdalen Islands ($89M) and 16% from the North Shore ($44M).

Landed value decreased more sharply in the North Shore area (-41%) than in the Gaspé–Lower St. Lawrence (-27%) and Magdalen Islands (-24%) areas.

This decrease can be explained by the mix of species in the landings posted in the different marine sectors. On the North Shore, snow crab accounted for a larger proportion of landings than in the other marine sectors and the proportion of lobster was much smaller. Over the past two years, snow crab has not performed as well as lobster, in terms of either landed quantity or value.

Species

In 2020 lobster was the top ranked species for the first time, with landings valued at $113 million (46% of the total). Snow crab ($104M) fell into second place due to a 41% decrease in landed value in 2020, compared to a 20% decrease for lobster. Shrimp remained in third place, with landings valued at $25.8 million, down 18% from 2019.

Groundfish came next, with landings valued at $12.7 million, which represents a decline of 13%. Together, Atlantic halibut ($5.6M) and Greenland halibut ($4.9M) accounted for 83% of the value of groundfish landings in Quebec.

Molluscs and echinoderms came in fifth place, with landings valued at $8.9 million in 2020, a decrease of 18%. This category is made up of the following species, listed in order of landed value: sea urchin (-31%), sea cucumber (-3%), whelk (-4%), scallops (-15%) and Stimpson’s surf clam (-4%).

Pelagic species (herring, mackerel and capelin) came in last, with landings valued at $3.2 million, down 13%. It should be noted that in 2020 capelin moved ahead of mackerel for the first time, to become the second most important pelagic species landed in Quebec, after herring.

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