Ecology and epidemiology of the striped shrimp, Pandalus montagui Leach, 1814 (Decapoda: Caridea), in the northern Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, and Ungava Bay, Canada

Abstract

Despite a fishery with annual landings valued at over $50 million CAD, very little knowledge has been gathered about the ecology of the striped shrimp (Pandalus montagui Leach 1814) in the Canadian northwestern Atlantic. This information is nevertheless considered essential for developing appropriate management actions for the fishery. We used survey data collected from 2005 to 2020 in the northern Labrador Sea, Ungava Bay, and Davis Strait to examine sizes, stages of maturity, size of transition, and evidence of parasites in the striped shrimp. We also investigated potential ecological drivers affecting the presence of parasites and size of transition. We found shrimp were substantially larger than previously observed in nearby habitats. The size of transition did not remain constant throughout the time series, and instead, was a function of the average size of females and the amount of preferred habitat in the previous year. The probabilities of individuals exhibiting black gill or black shell disease, or being infected with a bopyrid parasite were generally related to sex, depth, temperature, salinity, latitude, and shrimp density. The large sizes observed in the study area and the apparent plasticity of the population to environmental changes indicate that this species should be closely monitored in the future in relation to exploitation pressure and climate change.