Proceedings 2024/028
Proceedings of the Maritimes Regional Peer Review of the Stock Assessment of Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish; December 11, 2018, and February 13, 2019
Chairperson: Jennifer Ford
Editors: Jennifer Ford and Lottie Bennett
Summary
A regional peer review of the Stock Assessment of Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish was held on December 11, 2018, at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and subsequently reconvened by teleconference on February 13, 2019. This meeting followed the Northwest Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Framework Part I: Review of Data Inputs (September 19-20, 2017) and Part II: Review of Modelling Approaches and Assessment (June 27-28, 2018). An approach to setting proxy reference points based on solely the adult female abundance of the US spring survey was presented, as requested at the previous meeting. Information related to the US stock assessment for Spiny Dogfish was also presented, and meeting participants agreed that relying on the US stock assessment to inform our understanding of stock status and provide advice to management had several advantages. There was agreement that until a Canadian modeled approach could be developed, relying on the US model would be more informative than reviewing solely the US survey index.
The meeting was subsequently reconvened to discuss how elements of the US Spiny Dogfish stock assessment could be used to meet the requirements of the Canadian Fishery Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach (DFO 2009), including to determine reference points and stock status, and to draft advice to fisheries managers. The SSBtarget was recommended as the Upper Stock Reference (USR), 159,288 mt. The Lower Stock Reference (LSR) would be the SSBthreshold value, calculated as 50% of the USR, with a value of 79,644 mt. This would put the biomass estimates in the Cautious Zone since 2015.
Analyses were also presented related to the US Spring survey catch-at-length, survey timing, and the use of adult females versus demersal females as indices of abundance.
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