Terms of Reference

Assessment of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (3Pn, 4RS) Cod

Regional Peer Review - Quebec Region

February 23, 2017
Mont-Joli, Quebec

Chairperson: Martin Castonguay

Context

Landings in cod fishery in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence are primarily from fixed gear (handlines, longlines and gillnets). The resource is managed mainly by annual TACs (total allowable catches) and a series of other management measures.

At the request of the fisheries management Branch, resource assessment is done every two years. The purpose of the review is to determine whether changes have occurred in the status of the resource that would justify adjustments to the management plan based on the retained conservation approach.

Objectives

Provide scientific advice on cod stock status in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (3Pn, 4RS). This advice shall include:

• Description of the biology of northern Gulf cod and its distribution;
• A summary of oceanographic conditions in the Gulf;
• Description of the cod fishery including landings, fishing effort, catch per unit effort, biological data and cod by-catches in other fisheries;
• A review of other potential sources of information concerning fishing activities and complementary to official statistics;
• Analysis of data from the DFO annual research trawl survey in August and sentinel fisheries with mobile gears (July) and fixed gears (gillnets and longlines);
• Analysis of biological indicators related to the condition, growth and maturity;
• A sequential population analysis (SPA) to derive trends in terms of spawning stock, recruitment and fishing mortality;
• Analysis of trends of a number of indicators relevant to abundance, productivity and fishing mortality;
• Projections for 2017 and 2018 based on the assessment of trends in the abundance index and other stock indicators compared to baseline conservation thresholds (limite reference point);
• The determination of the process to provide advice during the interim years, including a description of conditions that may warrant a full stock assessment earlier than originally planned;
• Identification and priorization of research projects to be considered for the future.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report on the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST) cod
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Fishing industry
• Provincial representatives
• Aboriginal communities/organizations
• External expert