Terms of Reference

Assessment of the whelk fishery in the Quebec’s inshore waters

Regional Peer Review - Quebec Region

February 21, 2017
Mont-Joli, Qc 

Chairperson: Charley Cyr

Context

The whelk commercial fishery began in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 1940s. It expanded to the North Shore in the early 1990s and in 2003 in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Landings are generally between 1,000 and 1,400 t per year and come mainly from the North Shore. The whelk fishery is an inshore activity that is practiced using mainly conical traps.

Quebec waters are divided into 15 fishing areas to which access is limited to a restricted number of fishermen. The effort is also controlled by a fishing season, a number of traps and a minimum legal size. In addition, catches are limited by quota in Zones 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15.

At the request of the Fisheries Management Branch, resource assessment is done every three years. The last whelk stock review was done in winter 2015. The objective of the review is to determine whether changes that have occurred in the stock status necessitate adjustments to management plans based on the conservation approach used.

Objective

Provide scientific advice on the management of whelk stocks in Quebec’s inshore waters (management units 1 to 15) for fishing seasons 2018 to 2020. This advice shall include:

• Description of the biology of whelk and its distribution in Quebec’s coastal waters;
• An assessment of size at sexual maturity in different fishing areas;
• Description of the fishery including landings, fishing effort and management measures specific to the fishing areas;
• Analysis of catch per unit effort from the fishery;
• Analysis of data from the commercial sampling program;
• Analysis of data gathered during research survey in zone 1 and 2 in Upper North Shore in 2015 and 2017 and on the Magdalen Islands in 2016;
• Identification and prioritization of research projects to be considered for the future;
• 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;
• Perspectives for the 2018-2020 fishing seasons in areas 1 to 15 based on available indicators.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report on whelk in the Quebec inshore waters
• CSAS Research document
• CSAS Proceedings summarizing discussions

Expected Participation

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