Research Document 2023/021

Development of biological reference points and precautionary approach framework for the Dungeness Crab (Cancer magister) fishery in Crab Management Areas I and J

By Aulthouse, B., Araujo, A., Burton, M., Zhang, Z., Obradovich, S., Fong, K., and Curtis, D.

Abstract

This paper identifies reference points for Dungeness Crab in Crab Management Areas I and J in British Columbia. We estimated an Upper Stock Reference (USR = 0.456 female standardized CPUE) and a Limit Reference Point (LRP = 0.228 female standardized CPUE), as described in A Fishery Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach (DFO 2009) also known as o DFO’s Precautionary Approach (PA) policy. These reference points will inform the assessment of stock status of Dungeness Crab in Crab Management Areas (CMAs) I and J. Candidate reference points were estimated using three methodologies: a data-driven empirical method, a model-based method which estimates the stock-recruitment relationship, and a simulation model-based method. We recommend applying the empirically-based methodology for determining reference points for the Dungeness Crab in CMAs I and J as they are more interpretable than the simulation model-based reference points, and are more estimable than the stock-recruitment reference points. Subsequent research can use this framework to develop reference points for Dungeness Crab in other CMAs.

Research Document 2023/021 (PDF, 4,996 KB)

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