Science Advisory Report  2010/014

Reference points consistent with the precautionary approach for snow crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Summary

• The abundance of commercial-sized (>= 95 mm carapace width) adult males is proposed as the indicator of stock status to guide fishing activities in the PA framework.
• Managing under the assumption that large commercial-sized adult male recruitment is at least in part dependent upon the abundance of large commercial-sized adult male mating stock results in the least risk to the resource.
• The estimate of B_MSY, which equals, 42,400 t, was derived using 50% of the maximum biomass over a productive period, 1997 to 2008.
• The upper stock reference point (B_USR) is estimated to be 34,000 t of commercial-sized adult male crab.
• The limit reference point (B_lim) is 9,400 t and represents the lowest biomass of hard shelled commercial-sized adult male crab which produced a good recruitment rate of juvenile crab.
• The estimate of F_lim is an annual exploitation rate of 0.401 (harvest in year t+1 divided by biomass in year t estimated from the trawl survey).
• The lack of a demonstrated stock and recruitment relationship, the extent of density dependent effects across cohorts, and the role of environmental variability in modifying growth and survival for snow crab are the major sources of uncertainty presently limiting the development of reference points not based on proxy methods.
• These interim reference points are specific to the snow crab biological unit from the southern Gulf and should be re-examined and revised as new information is obtained.

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