Science Advisory Report 2020/002

Assessment of Lobster (Homarus americanus) in Lobster Fishing Area 33 for 2018

Summary

• The landings in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 33 for the 2017 – 2018  fishing season were 8,229 mt.
• A spatial representation of Lobster landings by grid cell indicates an increase in landings coming from offshore areas in recent years, especially near the boundary with LFA 40.
• Primary indicators are used to define stock status in relation to the reference points. The primary indicator for describing stock status is the unmodelled commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE). In addition to CPUE from log data, exploitation estimated using the Continuous Change in Ratio (CCIR) method from data collected by the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society (FSRS) is used as an indicator of fishing pressure that is independent of landings reported in the logs.
• The trend in CPUE indicates that a significant increase in the stock biomass has occurred in the last ten years. The 3-year running median value for CPUE for the 2017/2018 season is 1.08 kg per trap haul (TH), which is above the Upper Stock Reference (USR) of 0.28 kg/TH and Limit Reference Point (LRP) of 0.14 kg/TH.
• Since 2013, exploitation has declined to about two-thirds the level of the Removal Reference (RR). The 3-year running median value of CCIR exploitation for the 2017/2018 season is 0.56, which is below the RR of 0.81.
• Secondary indicators represent important time series trends that are tracked individually, but no reference points are defined. The secondary indicators for LFA 33 are landings and total effort (trap hauls), as well as FSRS recruitment trap recruit and legal catch rate series.
• There has been a significant increase in landings over the last ten years that corresponds with an increase in CPUE. There are some annual fluctuations in effort, with a slight increasing trend over time.
• Both FSRS recruit and legal size classes show a gradual increasing trend, which is not as dramatic as the increase in landings and CPUE over the last ten years.
• None of the contextual indicators change our perception of stock status.
• The CPUE index is above the USR, suggesting the current status of LFA 33 is within the Healthy Zone, and exploitation is below the RR.

This Science Advisory Report is from the October 1, 2018, LFA 33 Lobster Assessment. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

Science Advisory Report 2020/002 (PDF, 1,352 KB)