Proceedings 2020/026

Proceedings of the Pacific regional peer review on the Risk Assessment of Permitted Human Activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia; December 12-14, 2018 and May 2-3, 2019

Chairperson: Lisa Setterington

Editors: Elise Keppel, Lily Burke, and Lisa Christensen

Summary

These Proceedings summarize the relevant discussions and key conclusions that resulted from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Regional Peer Review (RPR) meetings on December 12-14, 2018 and on May 2- 3, 2019 at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, British Columbia (BC). A working paper (WP) focusing on a Pacific Region risk assessment of permitted human activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCA) in BC was presented for peer review.

The December 2018 meeting reviewed the approaches used in the WP to assess RCAs against current DFO guidance criteria that identifies area-based management measures as other effective area-based conservation measures (OEABCM), examined data sources used in the assessment, and evaluated conclusions generated from the assessment. Suggested revisions from the first RPR were incorporated into the WP and were subject to a second peer review in May 2019.

In-person and web-based participation included representatives from DFO Science, Ecosystems Management, and Fisheries and Aquaculture Management branches. External participation included representatives from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada, BC Provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, First Nations organizations, commercial and recreational fisheries, and environmental non-governmental organizations.

Conclusions and advice incorporated from both meetings are provided in the form of a Science Advisory Report (SAR) providing advice to DFO Fisheries Management branch on if RCAs meet OEABCM criteria 1 through 5, to assist in identifying the permitted activities with the highest relative risk, and to highlight data-deficient activities and areas needing further research.

This Proceedings document is the record of discussions from both RPR meetings. A SAR and a supporting Research Document will be made publicly available on the CSAS website.

Proceedings 2020/026 (PDF, 627 KB)

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