Science Advisory Report 2014/012

Review of the Eastport Marine Protected Area Monitoring Indicators, Protocols and Strategies

Summary

• The indicators currently being used to monitor the Eastport MPA lobster population are appropriate to assess this population. However, monitoring reproductive potential, specifically as a proxy of recruitment, requires further analysis of the existing data.
• The monitoring activities currently being carried out to monitor the Eastport lobster population, i.e., the indicators, protocols, and strategies, are appropriate to provide information for many of the indicators required to monitor the Eastport MPA against its conservation objective(s). However, enhanced protocols and/ or further analysis of the data available are recommended.
• Fall research sampling and tagging (inside and adjacent to the MPAs) provides information on comparative population structure. Tagging can also provide information on population density inside the MPAs and the movement behaviours of lobsters. Outside the MPAs (i.e., the EPLMA), commercial logbook data provides an index of fishery performance (Commercial Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE)), and may be useful for the estimation of population size, while at-sea-sampling during the commercial season provides additional information including population structure (e.g. average size; sex ratio).
• Recommendations for enhancing future monitoring protocols include: establishment of additional comparison sites (based on habitat characteristics if available); incorporation of additional traps with small and large entrance rings during sampling events (addressing catchability of very small and very large lobsters); and improvement of location data during fall research sampling.
• Recommendations for enhancing the analysis of existing data provided by current monitoring protocols includes consideration of: estimation of reproductive potential (e.g. egg production/fecundity) inside the MPAs versus adjacent areas; further analysis of tagging data (e.g., movement by size groups); presentation of berried females by trap hauled and/or by group size category (i.e., at the same scale); and calculation of abundance and density estimates from fall sampling (inside and adjacent to the MPAs).
• An evaluation of existing data from commercial at-sea sampling indicates stable CPUE and an increase in the average size of female lobsters outside of the MPAs. Data from research sampling indicates the average size of both females and males inside MPAs has also increased over time.
• Analysis of lobster size could be improved by considering only harvestable animals to address the problem of over-represented individuals (small; v-notch; and ovigerous) encountered during commercial at-sea-sampling.
• In order to understand prevailing oceanographic conditions and to develop effective protocols for the study of larval drift, further research is required. Research may also be beneficial to examine the potential effects of v-notching on monitoring results (e.g. male/female size and sex ratio); potential effects of partial (v-notch and berried) and full protection (MPA) on reproductive success); and carrying capacity and density dependence of lobster populations in the MPAs.
• Enhancing the use of tagging to indicate movements of lobster between the MPA and adjacent areas would prove useful to further understanding movements of Eastport MPA lobsters. Differential movement of lobsters by sex, size group, and depth could also be taken into consideration during the analysis of tagging data.
• If taking into consideration that the original intent (conservation objective) of the MPAs was to produce a viable (=fishable) lobster population in the EPLMA (as opposed to only immediately adjacent to the MPAs), an appropriate target area for monitoring would include the entire EPLMA.

This Science Advisory Report is from the January 27, 2011 meeting on Eastport Marine Protected Area (MPA) Monitoring Indicators, Protocols and Strategies. Additional publications from this process will be posted the on Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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