Science Advisory Report 2016/010

Assessment of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Areas 12, 19, 12E and 12F) and advice for the 2016 fishery

Summary

• Snow crab in fishing areas 12, 19, 12E, and 12F comprise a single biological population and the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence stock is considered as one unit for assessment purposes.
• The landings of snow crab from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2015 were 25,911 t from a revised quota of 25,842 t.
• The resulting exploitation rate of the 2015 fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was estimated at 38.4%.
• The 2015 post-fishery survey biomass of commercial-sized adult male crabs was estimated at 58,808 t (95% confidence interval of 52,754 to 65,466 t), a decrease of 12.9% from 2014. The available biomass for the 2016 fishery, derived from the 2015 survey, is within the healthy zone of the Precautionary Approach (PA) framework.
• Total commercial biomass in the 2015 survey was composed 59% of new recruitment (34,929 t) and 41% of residual biomass (24,022 t). The recruitment to the commercial biomass decreased by 19.9% relative to the previous year.
• Based on the agreed harvest decision rule which has been assessed as compliant with the PA, the point estimate of the biomass in the 2015 survey of 58,808 t corresponds to an exploitation rate of 37% giving a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 21,759 t for the 2016 fishery.
• The risk analysis indicates that the 2016 TAC derived from the harvest decision rule will result in a near 100% chance of the biomass for the 2017 fishery being above Biomass Upper Stock References (B_USR) and in the healthy zone of the PA.

Fishery performance in 2015 in Area 12:

• The 2015 landings in Area 12 were 23,080 t from a revised quota of 23,021 t.
• The Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) (expressed as kg per trap haul (kg/th)) in 2015 (67.9 kg/th) increased compared to 2014 (61.8 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab in 2015 (4.9%) is comparable to 2014 (4.4%).

Fishery performance in 2015 in Area 19:

• The 2015 landings in Area 19 were 2,129 t from a revised quota of 2,130 t.
• The CPUE in 2015 (144.8 kg/th) is comparable to 2014 (147.4 kg/th).
• The incidence of white-crab increased from 1.0% in 2014 to 5.5% in 2015.

Fishery performance in 2015 in Area 12E:

• In Area 12E, the landings were 192 t from a revised quota of 189 t.
• The CPUE in 2015 (65.8 kg/th) increased compared to 2014 (47.3 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab in 2015 increased from 7.8% in 2014 to 9.8% in 2015.

Fishery performance in 2015 in Area 12F:

• The 2015 landings in Area 12F were 510 t from a revised quota of 502 t.
• The CPUE in 2015 (38.2 kg/th) is comparable to 2014 (38.1 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab increased from 1.7% in 2014 to 3.3% in 2015.

This Science Advisory Report is from the meeting of January 27-28, 2016 on the Stock assessment of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab stock to 2015 and catch advice for the 2016 fishery. Additional publications from this process will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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