Science Advisory Report 2019/010

Assessment of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Areas 12, 19, 12E and 12F) to 2018 and advice for the 2019 fishery

Summary

• Snow crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) is considered as a single stock unit for assessment purposes. This stock unit comprises of fishing areas 12, 19, 12E, and 12F.
• The landings of snow crab from the sGSL in 2018 were 24,260 tonnes (t) from a revised quota of 24,439 t.
• The exploitation rate of the 2018 fishery in the sGSL was estimated at 36.9%.
• The 2018 post-fishery survey biomass of commercial-sized adult male crabs (carapace width (CW) >= 95mm) was estimated at 80,746 t (95% confidence interval of 70,984 to 91,467 t), an increase of 22.8% from 2017. The estimated biomass for the 2019 fishery, derived from the 2018 survey, is within the healthy zone of the Precautionary Approach (PA) framework.
• Total commercial biomass in the 2018 survey was composed 74% of new recruitment (59,609 t) and 26% of residual biomass (21,432 t). The estimated recruitment to the commercial biomass increased by 16.6% 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 2018 survey of 80,746 t corresponds to an exploitation rate of 40.9% and a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 33,025 t for the 2019 fishery.
• The risk analysis indicates that the 2019 TAC derived from the harvest decision rule would result in a near 100% chance of the biomass for the 2020 fishery being above BUSR and in the healthy zone of the PA.

Fishery performance in 2018 in Area 12:

• The 2018 landings in Area 12 were 20,769 t from a revised quota of 20,909 t.
• The catch per unit effort (CPUE; expressed as kg per trap haul, kg/th) in 2018 (44.2 kg/th) decreased compared to 2017 (72.0 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab was low in 2018 (4.4%), a decrease compared to 2017 (6.0%).

Fishery performance in 2018 in Area 19:

• The 2018 landings in Area 19 were 2,048 t from a revised quota of 2,046 t.
• The CPUE in 2018 (156.1 kg/th) increased compared to 2017 (142.8 kg/th).
• The incidence of white-crab decreased from 11.6% in 2017 to 8.8% in 2018.

Fishery performance in 2018 in Area 12E:

• In Area 12E, the landings were 260 t from a revised quota of 266 t.
• The CPUE in 2018 (46.6 kg/th) decreased compared to 2017 (60.9 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab in 2018 remained low, at 4.6% compared to 2.0% in 2017.

Fishery performance in 2018 in Area 12F:

• The 2018 landings in Area 12F were 1,183 t from a revised quota of 1,218 t.
• The CPUE remained high in 2018 (69.1 kg/th), comparable to 2017 (72.6 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab was low in 2018 (1.3%), comparable to 2017 (1.9%).

This Science Advisory Report is from the regional advisory meeting of January 23-24, 2019 Stock assessment of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab stock to 2018 and catch advice for the 2019 fishery. 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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