Science Advisory Report  2010/002

Assessment of the Bay of Fundy Sea Urchin Fishery, Lobster Fishing Area 38

Summary

• There had been a consistent decrease in the catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for the drag fisheries since 1996-97, until it reached its lowest level in the 2006-07 fishing season. During the 2007-08 fishing season, catch rates increased for the first time since 1996.
• CPUE has elements of population abundance but is influenced by discarding due to product quality and market prices. Therefore, the CPUE series must be interpreted with caution and cannot be used exclusively as an indicator of population abundance.
• The number of fishing trips has declined to a low of 179 trips during the 2007-08 fishing season.
• The total allowable catch (TAC) of 979 t that was established in 1996 was voluntarily reduced to 778 t in 2000-01, to 590 t in 2004-05 and to 176.9 t in 2006-07.
• Total biomass has changed little between the 2005 and 1992 survey periods. While estimated fishable biomass has declined, there is no statistically significant difference between the two surveys due to a high degree of variability.
• Within all the fishing locations combined, the density of legal sized sea urchin showed no significant differences between the 2005 and 1992 survey periods. However, based on a subset of transects conducted in all years, the density of legal sized urchins was significantly lower in 2006 (1.9 urchins/m²) and 2007 (3.0 urchins/m²) compared to 1992 (6.5 urchins/m²).
• Based on the established TAC of 176.9 t, the recent exploitation rates are estimated to be 1.5%, which is lower than the harvesting rate of 3.3% in 1996.
• The implementation of the new logbook format will facilitate collection and analysis of effort and harvesting rate data by fishing area in more detail and on a timelier basis.
• Limited at-sea observer sampling showed that the by-catch amount varies between fishing areas but was consistent in the species type present. Most of the by-catch consisted of kelp and blue mussels. In general, by-catch was low.
• Fishery impacts on the ecosystem with respect to by-catch of non-urchin species and potential impact of urchin fishing on the habitat requires collection and processing of new information.
• The recommended assessment schedule is every 5 years. However, annual monitoring of the landings, fishing effort, and catch rate from the fishing logs would be useful to determine if an earlier than scheduled assessment is required.

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