Terms of Reference

Science Regional Advisory Process (RAP) on Assessment Framework for Newfoundland East and South Coast Herring

November 25-27, 2009

Comfort Inn Airport

106 Airport Road

St. John's, NL

Chairperson: Earl Dawe

Context

The current (2009) integrated fisheries management plan (IFMP) for Newfoundland east and south cost herring has four objectives:

1. Stock Conservation

Conservation and the long-term sustainability of these stocks is one of the most important objectives for fisheries managers. It is vital that the stocks grow and provide benefits for all stakeholders in the short and long term. Fisheries managers work with all stakeholders to ensure this objective is achieved and that this herring stock allows for an economically viable and self-reliant fishery.

Harvesting levels will be set that allow for the stock to grow and the mature biomass to increase. Consideration will be given to the level of recruitment in this stock. Further, the fishery will be managed such that catches are not concentrated in ways that result in high exploitation rates on any of the stock components.

Fisheries managers will also work with industry to ensure adequate monitoring of all catches while minimizing by-catches of other species and small fish. They will also work with stakeholders to ensure migrating and spawning herring are not adversely impacted. This may include additional closed areas and times.

2. Ecosystem

Stemming from the conservation objectives above, ecosystem health is essential for fisheries managers.  The sustainability of herring as a species within the food web, as both a prey species and consumer, will strengthen the long-term health of the ecosystem.

3. Stewardship

The shared stewardship management objective recognizes that industry participants and all stakeholders must become involved in fisheries management policy development and the decision-making process. It also recognizes that achievement of the conservation objective requires that governments, resource users and other stakeholders share responsibility for the implementation of fisheries management decisions and for their outcomes.

4. Compliance

The following Issues of management will be monitored for compliance, contributing to better health of the stock and responsible fishing practices:

• Tuck seining (modified bar seines) and sharing of catches
• Transporting of fish (barging), which currently is not permitted via conditions of license
• Bycatch of salmonids
• Length limits on tuck seines
• Undersize herring

If, during the current review, biological processes become apparent for which additional objectives might be required, these would be proposed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Small Pelagics Advisory Committee for approval.

The intent is to review the current state of scientific knowledge of the population dynamics of Newfoundland east and south coast herring and to provide a framework to assess these stocks for a five-year period from 2010 to 2014.  The review is timed to coincide with the release of recommendations by the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council in their report titled: “Fishing into the future: the herring fishery in eastern Canada”.

During the review, the following components will be examined:

• Stock structure
• Commercial catch data
• Commercial sampling protocols
• Aging protocols
• Growth and maturation
• Indices of abundance
• Models to assess stock status

Throughout the review, research recommendations will be made to improve the framework.  These will be recorded in the Proceedings document for later discussion and prioritization.

Objectives

Stock Structure

• Review information on the biological basis for the following management units used in the IFMP:
• • Labrador
  • White Bay – Notre Dame Bay
  • Bonavista Bay – Trinity Bay
  • Conception Bay – Southern Shore
  • St. Mary’s Bay – Placentia Bay
  • Fortune Bay
  • Pass Island to Cinq Cerf

Commercial Catch Data

• Review annual commercial catch data to insure, in so much as possible, that all removals of herring are included.  It is imperative that annual catch data are accurate, as catch-at-age forms the basis of most analytical biomass estimation models.  The review will include:
• • methods used by Policy and Economics Branch to calculate annual catches,
  • estimation of the herring caught and used for bait (in the lobster fishery),
  • estimation of herring that are discarded dead in the herring fishery,
  • estimation of herring caught as bycatch in other fisheries.
• Review available information on the bycatch of other species in the herring fishery.

Commercial Sampling Protocols

• Review the precision and potential biases of current commercial sampling protocols including:
• • the use of random samples to measure biological parameters,
  • the number of fish sampled per tonne of landings,
  • construction of catch-at-age including protocols for grouping and weighting of samples and catches.

Aging Protocols

• Review the precision and potential biases of current aging protocols including:
• • assignment of ages,
  • assignment of spawning type.

Growth and Maturation

• Review protocols to estimate growth and size and age at maturity.

Indices of Abundance

• Review the precision and potential biases of seven abundance indices documented in the 2008 assessment of Newfoundland east and south coast herring (Wheeler et al. 2008):
• • catch rates from research gill nets fished during the spring,
  • catch rates from research gill nets fished during the fall,
  • biomass estimates from acoustic surveys, 
  • catch rates from gill net logbooks,
  • gill net fisher abundance index (from logbooks),
  • gill net fisher abundance index (from phone questionnaires),
  • purse seine fisher abundance index (from phone questionnaires).

Models to Assess Stock Status

• Review historical and current methods to assess stock status, including:
• • Extended Survivors Analysis (XSA),
  • Integrated Catch at Age (ICA),
  • Performance Reports.

• Determine the methodology to estimate current stock sizes, including short, medium and long-term forecasts of yield.

Precautionary Approach

• Determine the feasibility of defining limit and upper stock reference points and a harvest strategy framework for herring stocks where stock estimation data are limited.

Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

• Determine the feasibility of implementing an ecosystems approach to fisheries (EAF) including east and southeast Newfoundland herring stocks.  The EAF, as defined by the FRCC, includes an overall risk assessment and risk management of human interactions with the marine environment.  The objective of the EAF is to improve the ecological, social, economic, and institutional sustainability.  Science considerations include the probability of an event(s) and the ecosystem impacts on retained and non-retained species.

Outputs

• CSAS Science Advisory Report outlining the assessment framework,
• CSAS Proceedings, including research recommendations,
• CSAS Research Document.

Participation

• DFO NL Science and Science representative(s) from other regions
• DFO NL Fisheries and Aquaculture Management representatives
• DFO NL Policy and Economics representatives
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador representatives
• Memorial University (including Marine Institute) representatives
• Industry (harvester and processor) representatives
• Aboriginal Groups