Terms of Reference

Assessment of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST) Atlantic halibut

Regional Advisory Meeting - Quebec Region

March 16-17, 2021
Virtual meeting

Chairperson: Bernard Sainte-Marie

Context

The directed Atlantic halibut fishery is mainly carried out by fixed-gear vessels using longline. Atlantic halibut is also caught as by-catch in other fisheries, in particular the Greenland halibut fishery. To protect the population’s reproductive potential, this fishery is subject to several management measures including a total allowable catches (TAC).

At the request of the Fisheries Management Branch, a full stock assessment is conducted every two years. The purpose of the assessment is to provide the Minister with detailed advice on the status of the stock in order to inform management decisions for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fishing seasons.

Objectives

Provide scientific advice on the status of the Atlantic halibut stock in NAFO Divisions 4RST. This advice shall include:

• A description of the biology of Atlantic halibut and its distribution;
• An oceanographic and environmental overview for the stock area. If possible, this information should be integrated into the advice;
• An assessment of the resource status of Atlantic halibut in 4RST, including abundance, recruitment, exploitation rate, and biological characteristics based on:
• Analysis of the commercial fishing data including landing statistics, logbooks and commercial at-sea and dockside sampling program;
• Analysis of data from the DFO annual research trawl survey and sentinel fisheries;
• Analysis of data from the longline survey and tagging project carried out in collaboration with industry;
• Identification of a Limit Reference Point for this stock, and a report on stock status relative to the LRP.
• Determination of a process to provide advice in the form of an update during the interim years between full assessments, and the identification of indicators that may trigger a full stock assessment in place of an update;
• Evaluation of the impact of maintaining and changing current harvest levels;
• Identification of major sources of uncertainty in the assessment
• Identification of research priorities for the next 5 to 10 years based on the assessment needs.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report on the Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (4RST)
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Fishing industry
• Provincial Government representatives
• Indigenous Organizations
• External experts