Science Advisory Report 2014/029
Assessment protocol for commercial harvest of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in British Columbia
Summary
- Pacific Oysters were brought to BC in 1912 or 1913 and have been cultured and harvested since. Successful reproductive events in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s resulted in the establishment of Pacific Oyster throughout the Strait of Georgia. Subsequent transplants resulted in the establishment of wild populations in suitable habitats on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
- Establishment of wild populations led to the development of a commercial fishery in the 1940s that continues to the present. The Provincial government was responsible for management of this commercial fishery until 2012, when a legal decision resulted in responsibility shifting to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
- An evaluation of the stock assessment framework utilized by the BC Ministry of Agriculture (BC MoA) to determine harvest options for the for the wild oyster fishery was conducted and advice is provided respecting a new Pacific Oyster stock assessment protocol, for use by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
- Field studies were undertaken to develop a statistical basis for the survey protocol used to quantify Pacific Oyster biomass on a beach.
- The recommended Pacific Oyster Stock Assessment Framework consists of a statistically-based stratified random sampling survey design, with an optimal quadrat size of no less than 75x75 cm, a sampling intensity of 10 quadrats per hectare, and a minimum sample size of 5 quadrats per stratum.
This Science Advisory Report is from the December 4, 2012 review of the Assessment Protocol for Commercial Harvest of Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in British Columbia. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.
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