Terms of Reference

Stock Assessment of Scotian Shelf Snow Crab

Regional Science Advisory Process – Maritimes Region

February 23, 2018
Dartmouth, NS

Chairperson: Jennifer Ford

Context

Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio, O. Fabricius) is a subarctic species with a distribution from northern Labrador to near the Gulf of Maine. Snow Crab has been a dominant macro-invertebrate in the Scotian Shelf ecosystem since the decline of the groundfish during the late 1980s to early 1990s.  They are observed in large numbers in deep, soft-bottom substrates ranging from 60-280 m water depths and at temperatures generally less than 6 °C. Scotian Shelf Snow Crab are in the southern-most extreme of its spatial distribution in the Northwest Atlantic.

The Snow Crab fishery on the Scotian Shelf has been in existence since the early 1970s. It occurs annually throughout the year dependent upon the Crab Fishing Area (CFA).  In 2005, many CFAs and subareas were merged with the resulting divisions being North-Eastern Nova Scotia (N-ENS; formerly CFAs 20-22), South-Eastern Nova Scotia, S-ENS; formerly CFAs 23, 24), and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Area 4X.

In support of the fishery, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Maritimes Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Branch requested that DFO Science Branch assess the status of the resource and consequences of various harvest levels for the coming fishing season.  The last Snow Crab assessment Science Advisory Meeting and Stock Status Update were competed in February 2017 (DFO 2017) and March 2016 (DFO 2016), respectively.

Objective

The objectives of this science advisory meeting are:

• Report on overall status of the Eastern Nova Scotia and 4X Snow Crab stocks as of the end of the 2017 season.
• Report on relative abundance after the 2017 season and relative exploitation rates during 2017.
• Report on the bycatch of non-target species in the Snow Crab fishery in 2017 and identify any notable changes in the occurrence of these bycatch species relative to previous years.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• DFO Science
• DFO Resource Management
• Aboriginal Communities/Organizations
• Fishing Industry
• Provincial representative
• Non-government organizations
• Other invited experts

References

DFO. 2017. Assessment of Nova Scotia (4VWX) Snow Crab. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2017/033.

FO. 2016. Review of Scotian Shelf Snow Crab Assessment Results for 2015. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2016/035.