Science Advisory Report  2015/054

Development of risk-based indicators for SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area using the ecological risk assessment framework

Summary

• A framework to select and prioritize risk-based ecological indicators, using the outputs of an application of the ecological risk assessment framework (ERAF; O et al. 2014), and a proposed suite of risk-based indicators for the SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area (SK-B MPA), were reviewed.
• Risk-based indicators monitor the risk of harm to significant ecosystem components (SECs) from anthropogenic activities and associated stressors and can provide information that is specific to SEC-stressor interactions and to the SECs most at risk. These indicators may be SEC-specific, stressor-specific, or specific to a SEC-stressor interaction.
• The suites of risk-based indicators proposed for current snapshot stressors (predictable, and occurring most years) and potential stressors (unpredictable, and occurring infrequently) are suitable to support the development of strategies and plans to monitor human impacts in the
  SK-B MPA. It is recommended that indicators for both categories of stressor (current and potential snapshot) be considered as each represents different types of risk, states of knowledge and management needs for effective monitoring.
• The framework for risk-based indicator selection clearly describes the procedures that are followed to prioritize and select indicators, and the decision-making process to apply the framework. These elements of the framework support the achievement of comparable outcomes among users and when applied to other MPAs or management units.
• Indicators related to measures of abundance are proposed in most indicator suites, highlighting a key information gap in the SK-B MPA: the need to establish baseline data (e.g., biological, habitat) for all SECs. Past research activities have tended to focus on SECs located on the pinnacle of Bowie Seamount and, as a result, relatively little information is available from other areas of the MPA. It is recommended that programs to collect the appropriate baseline information be designed and implemented going forward, and that a focused effort to locate and evaluate the utility of retrospective information/data from past research at the site be considered.
• Monitoring a combination of SEC-stressor interactions, SEC, and stressor indicators simultaneously is recommended because there is a need to establish SEC baseline data and measure disturbance impacts concurrently in order to separate naturally induced variation from human induced variation. Monitoring of SEC and stressor-specific indicators provides baseline data and monitoring of SEC-stressor indicators provides information on disturbances.
• Current snapshot indicator suites measure the SEC-stressor interaction directly. The most informative indicators for current snapshot activities/stressors are SEC-stressor interaction indicators, followed by SEC and stressor indicators. For example, for the SEC Bamboo Coral, Isidella tentaculum, exposed to crushing (stressor) from trap fishing (activity), the number of dislodged colonies is proposed as an indicator of SEC-stressor interaction, abundance is proposed as the SEC specific indicator, and area crushed as the stressor specific indicator in SK-B MPA.
• Indicators for potential SEC-stressor interactions are generally less specific than those for current snapshot stressors because of the unpredictable occurrence of these stressors, the high uncertainty around exposure to and the consequences of such interactions, and the lack of established baseline data against which to measure the impact. It is recommended that a two step process for monitoring of potential stressor indicator suites be considered:
• establish baseline data on population abundance and the possible exposure to a stressor using SEC and stressor specific indicators prior to the occurrence of a stressor; and,
• when the potential stressor occurs, use SEC-stressor interaction indicators and compare these values with established baseline data to measure the disturbance.
• The effectiveness of the proposed indicators in measuring changes to SECs resulting from interactions with stressors will not be fully realized until after monitoring has commenced. It is recommended that the performance of the proposed indicators be assessed in terms of their ability to track properties of interest (in this case, impacts from stressors, and establish population baseline data for SECs) and their ability to detect or predict trends in attributes.
• It is recommended that indicator sampling protocols in the SK-B MPA focus on non-destructive sampling methods such as remotely operated vehicles, drop cameras and moorings with hydrophones and oceanographic instruments, supplemented with current data collected from the ongoing sablefish trap fishery. A tiered approach is recommended to minimize the frequency and extent of destructive monitoring, e.g., to estimate SEC biomass, to those periods/places identified by ongoing visual monitoring.
• It is recommended that an iterative approach be used to develop operational conservation objectives, to further refine the list of proposed risk-based indicators, and to select ecosystem indicators in the SK-B MPA.

This Science Advisory Report is from the May 20-21, 2015 Development of Risk-based Indicators for SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount and Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents Marine Protected Areas Using the Ecological Risk Assessment Framework. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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