Proceedings 2010/046

Proceedings of the Central and Arctic Regional Advisory Process on the Status of Cambridge Bay Anadromous Arctic Char Stocks; 27-28 January, 2010

Chairperson: T. Carmichael
Editor: L.N. Harris

Summary

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) regional science advisory meeting took place on January 27-28, 2010, in Cambridge Bay, NU, to assess anadromous Arctic Char (Salvenius alpinus) stocks in the area. This meeting was held in response to a request from DFO Fisheries and Aquaculture Management (FAM) sector for science advice on the current status and sustainable harvest level for the Cambridge Bay commercial fishery. These Arctic Char stocks were last assessed in 2004. Since that time, new information and data have become available, so a new assessment was warranted. Meeting participants included DFO Science and FAM sectors, the Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) and Kitikmeot Foods. Status, trends and sustainable harvest rates of the Cambridge Bay Arctic Char stocks were assessed. Participants agreed with the findings that, for the most part, Cambridge Bay commercial stocks are stable and fished at or below their sustainable rates of harvest. All of the primary stock complexes were considered to be at low risk of over exploitation under current harvest regimes, with the exception of the Ellice River stock complex. The Ellice River stock demonstrated a consistent decline in modal age, a consistent increase in mean condition factor and round weight and a faster growth rate, which differed from those trends observed in other fisheries, thus was considered to have a moderate risk of over exploitation. Further research is required for collection and analysis of catch per unit of effort data (CPUE), bycatch data and standardization of weir and gillnet effort. Models such as virtual population analysis and surplus biomass should be used, once CPUE data has been collected, to estimate abundance and a total allowable catch (TAC) and to estimate limit reference points for a Precautionary Approach (PA) model. Science advice resulting from the meeting is published in the DFO Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Science Advisory report series and the supporting data analyses are published in the Research Document series.

Complete document (PDF, 74 KB)

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.