Terms of Reference

Updated indicators status of the northern shrimp stocks in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence

Québec Regional Science Special Response Process

January 18, 2013
Mont-Joli, QC

Chairperson: Charley Cyr

Context

The Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is conducted by trawlers in four shrimp fishing areas (SFA): Estuary (SFA 12), Sept‑Îles (SFA 10), Anticosti (SFA 9) and Esquiman (SFA 8). Shrimp fishing is regulated by a number of management measures, including the setting of total allowable catches (TAC). TAC-based management limits fishing to protect the reproductive potential of the population. The essential elements for the establishment of a precautionary approach were adopted in 2012. Reference points were determined and guidelines were established to determine harvest based on the main stock status indicator and its position in relation to the stock status classification zones (healthy, cautious and critical). The harvest guidelines are based on a constant exploitation rate when the stock is in the healthy zone. The harvest rate decreases in the cautious zone as far as to the critical zone, where the exploitation rate is stable at a value that is four times lower than that of the healthy zone. Once the harvest is established, decision rules are applied to determine the TAC.

Since the shrimp stocks assessment is carried out every two years, fisheries management has requested that the indices of the shrimp stock status in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (SFA 8, 9, 10 and 12) are calculated and the value of the combined index for 2012 for each zone was produced.

These indices will be used to determine:

Harvest according to the harvest guidelines for each area and

The TAC according to the rules for setting the TACs of the precautionary approach.

Objectives

The objectives of the meeting are to review the stock status indicators for shrimp fishery zones 8, 9, 10 and 12 and to calculate the value of the combined index (survey and commercial catch per unit effort) for 2012.

Expected Publications

• Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Research Documents
• CSAS Science Response.

Participation

• DFO Science Branch