Science Response 2020/003

Evaluation of Management Procedures for Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) in Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert District, and the Central Coast Management Areas of British Columbia

Context

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has committed to renewing the current management framework to address a range of challenges facing Pacific Herring stocks and fisheries in British Columbia. Renewal of the management framework includes conducting a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) process to evaluate the performance of candidate management procedures (MPs) against a range of hypotheses related to future uncertain stock and fishery dynamics. The purpose of MSE is to identify MPs that provide acceptable outcomes related to conservation and fishery management objectives.

Identification of a preferred management procedure for each Pacific Herring management area is an iterative process conducted through:

1. collaboration with coastal First Nations, and
2. engagement with the fishing industry, government and non-government organizations.

Additionally, DFO and the Heiltsuk Nation maintain their commitments to annual development of a Joint Fisheries Management Plan for Pacific Herring in the Central Coast. Results from the MSE process may inform this on-going commitment.

The DFO Sustainable Fisheries Framework policy suite includes the Fishery Decision-making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach (PA Policy; DFO 2009). The PA Policy requires the identification of limit reference points (LRPs) to serve as thresholds to undesirable stock states. Status-based LRPs were presented and approved for the five major Pacific Herring management areas in February 2017 (DFO 2017, Kronlund et al. 2018). Closed-loop feedback simulation testing of candidate MPs was recommended as a next step to evaluate the consequences of LRP choice for each area. However, the identification of a preferred management procedure requires a fully specified set of measurable objectives that includes reference points (typically categorized as limits and targets) and to the extent possible, specification of objectives related to catch, catch variability, and socio-cultural goals. Therefore, core fisheries management objectives, proposed by DFO at the Integrated Herring Harvest Planning Committee in May 2017, as well as potential stock-specific objectives are included in this first cycle of MSE processes for the Haida Gwaii (HG), Prince Rupert District (PRD), and the Central Coast (CC) management areas. Note that a fully specified set of objectives has not yet been developed for each management area. The DFO will continue to collaborate with coastal First Nations to develop area-specific objectives specific to Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries and spawn-on-kelp (SOK) fisheries. These and additional objectives may be captured within the Heiltsuk-DFO Joint Fisheries Management Plan for Herring in the Central Coast and through the development of a Rebuilding Plan for Haida Gwaii Herring (under development through a partnership between the Council of Haida Nation, DFO, and Parks Canada).

Finally, DFO will continue to engage with the herring industry, government and non-government organizations to describe broader objectives related to conservation, economics and access.

In July 2018, a formal peer review was conducted on the Pacific Herring operating model (modified from Cox et al. 2019) and management procedure evaluation for the West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) and Strait of Georgia (SOG) management areas (DFO 2019). The review focused on closed-loop simulation testing of MPs under three scenarios describing future trends in natural mortality, which is the dominant factor in Herring stock dynamics. These two management areas were chosen to initiate MSE processes for Pacific Herring for two reasons. First, stocks and fisheries in these two areas span the range of historical patterns in stock dynamics observed across Herring management areas in British Columbia. Therefore, experience gained could be applied to the remaining three major management areas. Second, conservation and fishery objectives were available, having been developed in part via application of the PA Policy as well as workshops with WCVI First Nations and industry participants.

DFO Fisheries Management requested that DFO Science Branch evaluate the performance of candidate management procedures for northern stock areas in order to complete initial cycles of the MSE processes. Harvest strategies in northern stock areas (i.e., HG, PRD, and CC) were to be evaluated utilizing the operating model and experience gained from WCVI and SOG management areas.

Evaluation of results and advice produced from this Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Science Response Process (SRP) will support renewal of the Pacific Herring management framework and inform development of the 2019/2020 Pacific Herring Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP), where appropriate. The publication of these results does not constitute consultation with First Nations, but presents DFO’s initial simulations for the northern Pacific Herring management areas. DFO is committed to collaborating with First Nations on the development of objectives and management procedures within the MSE process.

This Science Response results from the Science Response Process of August 15, 2019 on the Evaluation of Management Procedures for Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) in the Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert District, and the Central Coast Management Areas of British Columbia.

Science Response 2020/003 (PDF, 1,818 KB)

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