Proceedings 2015/006

Proceedings of the Pacific regional peer review on Stock Assessment and Management Advice for BC Pacific Herring: 2014 Status and 2015 Forecast; September 3‑4, 2014

Chairpersons: Sean MacConnachie and Linnea Flostrand
Editor: Sheena Majewski

Summary

These proceedings summarize the relevant discussions and key conclusions that resulted from a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Regional Peer Review meeting on September 3rd and 4th 2014 at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, BC. One working paper was presented for peer review that assessed the current status of the five major and two minor herring stocks in BC in 2014 and forecasted pre-fishery biomass for 2015 by stock area.  In following with the request for science advice, the assessment paper:

1. included trends in herring biomass, depletion, and recruitment for each major and minor stock;
2. assessed the current status of Pacific Herring for each of the five major and two minor stocks relative to estimates of unfished spawning biomass (SB₀); and
3. evaluated the consequences of different total allowable catch levels against probabilistic metrics to account for uncertainty in the advice.

The paper also included information to address the request for advice regarding:

1. the application of the historical assessment method and management procedure (pre 2011 assumption of q=1 and use of fixed commercial fishery cutoff) and,
2. a preliminary evaluation of reductions in fishery-independent survey frequency.

A Science Advisory Report was developed to provide science advice (compliant with the DFO fishery decision-making framework) and probabilistic outcomes concerning harvest options for each major and minor herring stock in BC.

Staff from DFO Ecosystems and Oceans Science and Ecosystems and Fisheries Management Sectors, and representatives from First Nations, commercial and recreational fishing sectors, non-governmental organizations, and academia participated in the meeting either in person or remotely via webinar.

The conclusions and guidance resulting from this review was provided in the form of a Science Advisory Report (SAR) to inform the application of the BC herring management framework and the development of the 2015 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP). The Science Advisory Report and the Research Document will be made publicly available on the CSAS Science Advisory Schedule.

Complete document (PDF, 293 KB)

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