Terms of Reference

Determination of Escapement and Exploitation Rate Benchmarks for the Three Georgia Strait Southern BC Coho Management Units

Regional Peer Review Process – Pacific Region

November 4-5, 2014 and April 14, 2015
Nanaimo, BC

Chairperson:  Mary Thiess

Context

The Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) identifies four Southern BC inside management units (MU): Interior Fraser (including Thompson), Lower Fraser, Strait of Georgia Mainland, and Strait of Georgia Vancouver Island.  The objective of the bilateral Canada/US Coho Salmon management plan is to constrain total fishery exploitation to enable MUs to produce Maximum Sustainable Harvest (MSH) over the long term, while maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of the component populations and to improve long-term prospects for sustaining healthy fisheries in both countries.  The PST requires the development and documented derivation of the escapement goal or exploitation rate that achieves MSH; and exploitation rates for 3 status categories, Low, Moderate and Abundant for each MU.

In addition to the above PST obligations, and as part of implementing Strategy 1 of the Wild Salmon Policy (WSP), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is required to identify biological benchmarks to assess the status of WSP Conservation Units (CU’s) for Pacific salmon (PST MU’s are comprised of multiple CU’s).  WSP Benchmarks have not been established for any Southern BC Coho CUs at this time.

An analysis, funded by the Southern Endowment Fund of the PST, to provide science-based recommendations for escapement and exploitation benchmarks for the Strait of Georgia Mainland and Strait of Georgia Vancouver Island CU’s and MU’s has been undertaken by LGL Ltd of Sidney, BC and Ecometric Research of Vancouver BC.  This analysis utilizes a habitat-based Coho carrying capacity model, originally developed for the Nass River watershed (Bocking and Peacock 2004), along with a Bayesian stock-recruit analysis (Korman and Tompkins 2014a, 2014b) focused first at the CU level.  Specific advice and recommendations for methods to appropriately combine CU level exploitation rate benchmarks into compatible MU exploitation benchmarks will also be provided.  An assessment of status for neither the CU’s nor MU’s will be completed as part of this work.

Fisheries Management Branch has requested that Science Branch provide advice on the WSP and PST obligations for the Lower Fraser River, Georgia Strait-Mainland and Georgia Strait-Vancouver Island CU’s and MU’s.  Results of the assessment, and advice arising from this Regional Peer Review process, will be used  to inform the ongoing development of WSP benchmarks, assessments of WSP status at the CU level and management reference points.

Objectives

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

Noble, C., B. Bocking and J. Korman.  Habitat based Escapement and Exploitation Rate Benchmarks for Georgia Strait Mainland, Georgia Strait Vancouver Island and lower Fraser River Managements Units.  CSAP Working Paper 2014-15/SAL13

The specific objectives of this review are to:

1. Develop biologically-based benchmarks for escapement and exploitation rate for Strait of Georgia Mainland, Strait of Georgia Vancouver Island and Lower Fraser River MU’s and their component CU’s.
2. Provide Specific advice and recommendations for methods to appropriately combine CU level exploitation rate benchmarks into compatible MU benchmarks.
3. Examine and identify uncertainties in the data and methods.

Expected Publications

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

Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science, Fisheries Management, and Salmonid Enhancement Program)
• First Nations
• Commercial and Recreational Fishing Representatives
• Environmental Non-government Organizations
• Academia

References

Bocking, B. and D. Peacock.  2004. Habitat-based production goals for coho salmon in Fisheries and Oceans Statistical Area 3. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2004/129. vii +77pp.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2005. Canada's Policy for Conservation of Wild Pacific Salmon. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Vancouver, BC. 34 pp.
Grant, S.C.H., MacDonald, B.L., Cone, T.E., Holt, C.A., Cass, A., Porszt, E.J., Hume, J.M.B., and Pon, L.B. 2011. Evaluation of uncertainty in Fraser Sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) Wild Salmon Policy status using abundance and trends in abundance metrics. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2011/087. viii + 183 pp.

Holt, C.A. 2009a. Evaluation of benchmarks for Conservation Units in Canada's Wild Salmon Policy: technical documentation. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/059. xii + 50 pp.

Holt, C.A., Cass, A., Holtby, B., and Riddell, B. 2009b. Indicators of status and benchmarks for Conservation Units in Canada's Wild Salmon Policy. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/058. vii + 74 pp.

Korman, J and Tompkins, A. 2014a. Comparison of the Fishery and Conservation Performance of Fixed- and Abundance-Based Exploitation Regimes for Coho Salmon in Southern British Columbia. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2014/090.

Korman, J. & Tompkins, A. 2014b. Estimating Regional Distributions of Freshwater Stock Productivity, Carrying Capacity, and Sustainable Harvest Rates for Coho Salmon Using a Hierarchical Bayesian Modelling DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2014/089