Terms of Reference

Stock assessment of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab stock to 2019 and catch advice for the 2020 fishery

Regional Peer Review – Gulf Region

February 5 and 6, 2020
Moncton, NB

Chairperson: Matthew Hardy

Context

In support of DFO Ecosystems and Fisheries Management request for advice, DFO Science Branch Gulf Region undertakes a peer review of the stock status of the snow crab (Chionecetes opilio) biological unit of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (management areas 12, 12E, 12F and 19).

Objectives

Develop science advice for the management of the snow crab fishery for the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence biological unit for the 2020 fishing season. The following considerations and items will be on the agenda for this peer review meeting.

Present for each of the four management areas in the southern Gulf (12, 12E, 12F, 19):

• commercial fishery statistics for the 2019 fishing season (catches, landings and effort, sea sampling),
• indicators of fishery performance: catch per unit of effort, size and carapace condition of commercial size crab.

Present the following estimates based on the post-fishery directed snow crab trawl survey for the extended polygon of 20 to 200 fathoms for 2019 and previous years:

• the exploitable commercial biomass (adult male crab of carapace width >= 95 mm) for the southern Gulf biological unit and for each of the four management areas (12, 12E, 12F and 19) within the southern Gulf biological unit,
• the abundance of male crab recruitment for the near future,
• the present and future abundance of the spawning stock,
• the size structure of the male and female crab by stage of maturity,
• the loss rates of the commercially exploitable biomass, and
• indicators of snow crab abundance and distribution based on the September multi-species research vessel survey of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Perform a risk analysis of catch options for the 2020 fishery year, including projections with uncertainty of the predicted adult male commercial biomass components (residual biomass, recruitment biomass) for the 2021 fishery year. This risk analysis will be prepared for the southern Gulf biological unit, relative to the reference points (limit, upper reference), and according to the agreed decision rule developed for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence biological unit and fishery.

Present the information on the environmental factors which may influence the abundance and population dynamic of the snow crab stock of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Research Documents

Expected Participations

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science, and Ecosystems and Fisheries Management)
• Fishing industry
• Aboriginal organizations
• Provinces
• External experts