Proceedings 2016/027

Proceedings of the Pacific regional peer review on A revised operating model for Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) in British Columbia, Canada; January 20, 2016

Co-chairs and editors: Julia Bradshaw and John Holmes

Summary

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the British Columbia (BC) Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fishing industry are collaborating on a management strategy evaluation (MSE) process intended to develop and implement a transparent and sustainable harvest strategy. Variations of age-structured models have been used in simulation testing candidate management procedures and represent the cornerstone of the MSE process.

The existing Sablefish harvest strategy is defined by four components:

1. Operational fishery objectives used to assess the acceptability of alternative management procedures;
2. A management procedure (MP) that consists of data - total landed catch and three abundance indices, an assessment method – a tuned Schaefer state-space production model, and a harvest control rule defined using estimated biomass at maximum sustainable yield (B_MSY) and fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield (F_MSY) values;
3. A simulation-based evaluation of the management procedure against alternative operating models representing selected hypotheses about Sablefish stock dynamics; and
4. Application and monitoring of the MP in practice. The issues of potential structural mis-specification in the operating model and the lack of fit to key historical data were recognized in 2010 peer reviews.

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 of January 20, 2016 at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, BC. A working paper describing and testing a revised operating model for Sablefish in British Columbia intended to address the issues identified in 2010 was presented for peer review.

In-person and web-based participation included Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science and Fisheries and Aquatic Management Sectors staff; and external participants from First Nations organizations, the commercial fishing sector, and academia.

The conclusions and advice resulting from this review will be provided in the form of a Science Advisory Report (SAR) providing advice to Management to inform a simulation-based evaluation of the performance of alternative management procedures against agreed upon objectives for the Sablefish stock and fishery. The MSE approach is an iterative process for decision-making and analysis that is ongoing for the Sablefish fishery.

The Science Advisory Report and supporting Research Document will be made publicly available on the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) website.

Complete document (PDF, 194 KB)

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