Terms of Reference

Stock Assessment of the Cumberland Sound Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in 2019

Regional Peer Review – Central and Arctic Region

November 25–27, 2019
Pangnirtung, NU

Chairperson: Chris Lewis

Context

Greenland Halibut (also known as Turbot) in the Cumberland Sound Turbot Management Area (CSTMA) is considered to be a separate stock recruited from the offshore (Baffin Bay/Davis Strait), based on previous tagging studies that indicated adults were resident in the CSTMA, and thus isolated from the spawning stock of origin. There has been little to no evidence that spawning occurs in the CSTMA. The current assumption that the CSTMA stock is a sink population supported by immigration of juvenile Greenland Halibut from offshore needed to be tested. Beginning in 2010 movement of Greenland Halibut within Cumberland Sound, and between Cumberland Sound and adjacent areas, have been studied using new acoustic technology. Stock assessments of the offshore stock are ongoing (e.g., DFO 2014, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization). However, there has been no assessment of Greenland Halibut in the CSTMA. Total Allowable Harvest (TAH) is based on the maximum amount of catch reported during the historical peak of the ice-based winter longline fishery in the early 1990’s when approximately 115 fishermen participated in harvesting over 400 t of Greenland Halibut annually over a three year period. It is unknown whether full exploitation of the established 500 t TAH in the CSTMA is sustainable, or if the TAH could be increased without undue risk that the stock could decline.

In the winter of 2018, CSTMA fishers harvested the entire 500 t quota for the first time in the history of the fishery and a similar level of catch was reported in the 2019 winter fishery. Cumberland Sound Fisheries Ltd. made a request to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) in August 2017, before the fishery began, to increase the quota from 500 t to 1000 t. A follow up request for an additional 50–100 t was also made for the 2018 winter fishery. The NWMB did not approve these requests, stating that the stock had never been assessed and therefore there was no science basis to support the requested increase. In March 2019, Cumberland Sound Fisheries  Ltd. made an additional request to the NWMB for a quota increase of 300 t. This prompted Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Resource Management to request Science advice on the sustainability of a 500 t, 700 t, or 800 t TAH for the CSTMA.

In addition, some Canadian fisheries allow the carry-over of unused quota from one year to the next, often within a defined limit. In 2018, on a provisional basis, DFO Resource Management permitted the carry-over of 50 t from the 2017 CSTMA TAH to support additional fishing in the 2018 open water season. Development of a Carry-Forward Policy for the CSTMA fishery would provide fishery managers with management options. However, the potential consequences of carry-forward provisions, including consideration of the consequences of different carry-forward limits (i.e., a maximum amount of the TAH that could be carried forward and the number of years over which unused quota could be carried), need to be tested and Science advice should also be considered.

Objective

The following objectives will be addressed at the regional peer-review meeting:

1. Determine the current status of and trends in the CSTMA stock.
2. Assess the sustainability (i.e., risk of stock decline) associated with TAHs of 500 t, 700 t, and 800 t.
3. Describe movement within Cumberland Sound and assess linkages between the offshore Greenland Halibut stock (NAFO Subarea 0) and the CSTMA stock (i.e., sink population or separate stock).
4. Assess the sustainability of allowing the carry-forward of unused TAH (assess multiple carry-forward amounts up to 50% of the full TAH) over periods of 1 to 5 years.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document(s)

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science and Resource Management)
• Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment, Fisheries and Sealing
• Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board
• Pangnirtung Hunters and Trappers Association
• Cumberland Sound Fisheries Ltd./Pangnirtung Fisheries Ltd. Partnership
• Academia
• Other invited experts