With the closure of the Atlantic Cod-directed fishery in 1993 for many stocks in the Northwest Atlantic, information on the status of the stocks was no longer available to scientists of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) from the commercial fishery. This information was previously used in combination with information from research vessel surveys to assess the status of the resources. Based on a recommendation by the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC), DFO began a sentinel survey program in 1994 (formerly known as sentinel fisheries) to collect such information.
Sentinel surveys are not commercial fisheries, but instead consist of surveys involving limited removals from the stocks under a pre-determined scientific protocol for the purpose of collecting biological information. The primary objective of these surveys is to obtain information on trends in the stocks (e.g. whether stocks are increasing or decreasing). However, these surveys are also important to study the distribution, migration and general biological characteristics (e.g. condition, maturity stages) of various fish species, and collects information on water temperature.
