Structure of the offshore fish species assemblage in Saint John Harbour

Three sites, of increasing distance from anthropogenic waste discharges, were sampled biweekly for 13 months using multimesh gillnets in Saint John Harbour. The fish assemblage was dominated by immature, pelagic fish with seven species accounting for 97.7% of the total catch. The fish assemblage nearest the city was composed mainly of anadromous species, while catches further from the city consisted mostly of marine fish. It was concluded that six gillnets deployed over three nights were sufficient to collect >85% of the catchable species at the sampling site furthest from shore.;Three potential sentinel species were identified: Myoxocephalus scorpius (shorthorn sculpin), Pseudopleuronectes americanus (winter flounder) and Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus (longhorn sculpin). Although 65% of species collected were demersal, few individuals were collected, suggesting that additional sampling methods should be evaluated to better sample the Saint John Harbour fish assemblage, and to evaluate the residency and site fidelity of these species.