Terms of Reference

Evaluation of Management Procedures for the Outside Population of Yelloweye Rockfish Rebuilding Plan

Regional Peer Review – Pacific Region

October 29-30, 2019
Nanaimo, BC

Chairperson: Greg Workman

Context

As part of the Sustainable Fisheries Framework, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has developed “A Fisheries Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach ” (DFO 2009), and “Guidance for the Development of Rebuilding Plans under the Precautionary Approach Framework ” (DFO 2013). These documents outline the departmental policy and guidelines for applying the precautionary approach (PA) to Canadian fisheries. A key component of the PA Policy requires that when a stock has reached or fallen below a limit reference point (LRP), a rebuilding plan must be in place with the aim of having a high probability of the stock growing above the LRP within a reasonable timeframe. As such, through the PA Policy, the requirement for rebuilding plans for depleted stocks has become departmental policy for key harvested stocks managed by DFO. Yelloweye Rockfish, which is managed as two stocks (inside and outside populations), is a target species in the hook and line commercial fisheries, Food Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries, and recreational fisheries.

The outside population of Yelloweye Rockfish was last assessed by DFO in 2015 and reference points were established (Yamanaka et al. 2018). The biomass was estimated to be less than the Limit Reference Point (LRP), necessitating the development of a rebuilding plan. The Yelloweye Rockfish Inside population was also assessed to be below the LRP (Yamanaka et al. 2011). A rebuilding plan for both Yelloweye Rockfish populations was developed and published in Appendix 9 of the Pacific Region Integrated Fishery Management Plan (IFMP) for Groundfish (DFO 2018). Although the rebuilding plan for the Inside population of Yelloweye Rockfish also requires revision, this peer review process will focus on the outside population and lessons learned will be applied to the inside population in a subsequent process.

The DFO guidance document for the development of rebuilding plans (DFO 2013) recommends that rebuilding plans undergo regular (no more than 3 years) performance reviews, in addition to appropriate monitoring and assessment. The outside Yelloweye Rockfish rebuilding plan was based on the 2015 stock assessment and should be reviewed for 2019. While the stock assessment provides valuable short-term, tactical advice, it does not contain all of the information required in a rebuilding plan.

The DFO Fisheries Management Branch has requested that Science Branch develop advice to inform a rebuilding plan consistent with the DFO (2013) guidance document. This advice will include a review and updating of rebuilding objectives for the outside Yelloweye Rockfish population and fisheries, and development of an analytical framework for evaluating candidate management procedures against the rebuilding objectives.

The advice arising from this Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Regional Peer Review (RPR), will be used to revise the rebuilding plan for the outside Yelloweye Rockfish population. Both Yelloweye populations are listed as Special Concern under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and assessed as Special Concern by COSEWIC. The RPR findings may be also used to inform future COSEWIC reassessments as well as SARA recovery potential assessments, and listing decisions. A SARA Management Plan is currently under development.

Objective

The following working paper will be reviewed and provide the basis for discussion and advice on the specific objectives outlined below.

Benson, A., S. Cox, B. Doherty, Haggarty, D.R. Evaluation of Management Procedures for the Outside Population of Yelloweye Rockfish Rebuilding Plan. CSAP Working Paper 2017GRF02.

The specific objectives of this paper and review are to:

1. Report on a set of candidate management objectives and corresponding performance metrics for the outside Yelloweye Rockfish population and fisheries that will support the development of a rebuilding plan under the Sustainable Fisheries Framework policies and inform COSEWIC reassessments as well as recovery potential assessments and listing decisions.
2. Develop Operating Models (OMs) to represent alternative hypotheses for the outside Yelloweye Rockfish population and fishery dynamics (e.g., processes determining annual population biomass, recruitment, fleet-specific fishing mortality).
3. Recommend biological reference points that are scientifically defensible and appropriate given the available data and management needs.
4. Develop closed-loop simulations to evaluate the performance of candidate management procedures (MPs) with respect to their robustness to uncertainties in monitoring data, the choice of assessment methods, and catch limit implementation.  
5. Demonstrate the value of information for those assessment models that require catch-at-age series in terms of relative MP performance.
6. Examine, identify, and report on uncertainties in the data and methods. 
7. Recommend an appropriate interval between formal stock assessments, indicators used to characterize stock status in the intervening years, and/or triggers of an earlier than scheduled assessment. Provide a rationale if indicators and triggers cannot be identified.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report  
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Ecosystems and Oceans Science, Species at Risk, and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Province of British Columbia
• Academics
• Indigenous organizations
• Industry (commercial fishing industry)

References

DFO. 2009. A Fishery Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

DFO. 2013. Guidance for the development of rebuilding plans under the precautionary approach framework : growing stocks out of the critical zone. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

DFO. 2015. Stock Assessment for the Outside population of Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) for British Columbia, Canada in 2014. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2015/060.

DFO. 2018. Pacific Region integrated fisheries management plan, groundfish, effective February 21, 2018.in Fisheries and Oceans Canada, editor., Pacific Region.

Keppel, E.A. and Olsen, N. 2019. Pre-COSEWIC review of Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) along the Pacific coast of Canada: biology, distribution and abundance trends. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/014. ix + 109 p.

Yamanaka, K.L., McAllister, M.M., Etienne, M., Edwards, A.M., and Haigh, R. 2018. Stock Assessment for the Outside Population of Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) for British Columbia, Canada in 2014. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2018/001. ix +150 p.

Yamanaka, K. L., McAllister, M. K., Olesiuk, P. F., Etienne, M.-P., Obradovich, S. and Haigh., R. 2012. Stock Assessment for the inside population of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) in British Columbia, Canada for 2010. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2011/129. xiv + 131 p.