Terms of Reference

Regional Advisory Meeting

Stock Assessment and Advice for Herring

September 2 -3, 2009
Seminar Room, Pacific Biological Station. Nanaimo, BC

Chairperson: Linnea Flostrand

Background

The PSARC Pelagics Subcommittee will review findings and advise resulting from the application of updated datasets in association with a recently accepted version of the Pacific herring assessment model (HCAMv2) in association with a precautionary decision making framework.

Recent estimates of herring natural mortality (i.e. from HCAMv2) are at or near historical high values for all BC stocks. Multi-year tag recapture data can provide information on absolute levels of post tagging survival rates, independent of HCAM parameter estimation, which may provide insight into variability in dispersal and natural mortality. The PSARC Pelagics Subcommittee will review a working paper that investigates estimates of natural mortality and dispersal using tag-recovery data, in order to consider alternative stock dynamics that may form the basis of a management strategy evaluation for B.C. herring.

Objectives

Peer review the results from the draft working paper titled “Stock Assessment and Management Advice for the British Columbia Herring Fishery, 2009 Assessment and 2010 Forecasts”, which applies the HCAMv2 assessment model to an updated herring dataset for providing scientific advice on precautionary harvest levels for 2010.

Peer review the draft working paper title “Herring multi-stock analysis:  Integration of tagging data and evaluation of alternative dynamics”, which is intended to provide insight and scientific advice related to future BC Pacific herring stock assessment models.

Products

1. CSAS Proceedings summarizing the discussions of the two papers.
2. CSAS Research documentation of approved papers
3. CSAS Science Advisory Report with maximum recommended TAC tables by herring stock assessment region

Location and Date

Seminar Room, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC,
Sept 2 (and Sept 3 only if required), 2009

Participants

Participants (approx. 25) will include internal DFO representatives and invites from academia, First Nations, NGO’s and industry.