Science Response 2012/008
Approaches for Evaluating the Proposed 3Ps Cod Conservation Plan and Rebuilding Strategy (CPRS)
Context
International agreements such as the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, as well as DFO’s Precautionary Approach Framework, call for the rebuilding of depleted fish stocks through application of the precautionary approach. In line with this, continued rebuilding and growth of the 3Ps Atlantic Cod stock is desired to ensure its long-term sustainability and to promote associated economic opportunities.
DFO NL Region, through a Working Group involving DFO Science, DFO Fisheries Management, DFO Policy and Economics, DFO Species at Risk, the Provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, members of the fishing industry, FFAW, and other non-government Organizations, have developed a draft Conservation Plan and Rebuilding Strategy (CPRS) for the 3Ps stock of Atlantic Cod. This working group identified a need to determine if the draft plan can be evaluated quantitatively. A Science Special Response Process meeting was chosen as the avenue to address this given the short timeline to coordinate such a meeting.
Specific scientific questions were identified to guide the effort to identify approaches for evaluating the proposed 3Ps cod conservation plan and rebuilding strategy (CPRS): 1) Is the proposed Conservation Plan and Rebuilding Strategy (CPRS) for 3Ps cod described in a form that would allow quantitative evaluation through simulation. If not, what modifications would be required to the CPRS? 2) Is the existing stock assessment method (SURBA) for 3Ps cod amenable to quantitative evaluation of the CPRS through simulation? If not, could SURBA be modified to allow such an evaluation or could suitable alternative approaches be developed and applied to carry out such an evaluation? 3) Where quantitative evaluation is feasible, are the desirable management objectives of the CPRS known and can they be transformed into measurable performance statistics for simulation testing?
The Science response did not evaluate the ability of the CPRS to meet the management objectives, rather it determined if the CPRS could be quantitatively evaluated through simulation. It was concluded that the CPRS could not be quantitatively evaluated in its present form, but that modifications might be possible that would allow such evaluation. The present assessment model is not directly amenable to quantitative evaluation of the CPRS through simulation as the model cannot be used to evaluate the specific impacts of catch levels. There are assessment models approaches that could be used to evaluate the impacts of catch levels. However these would need to be developed for the 3Ps stock of Atlantic cod and peer reviewed in an assessment framework process. The management objectives also have not been stated in a way that can be measured.
This Science Response report is from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Regional Science Special Response Process (SSRP) of June 28, 2012 on Approaches for Evaluating the Proposed 3Ps Cod Conservation Plan and Rebuilding Strategy (CPRS).
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