Terms of Reference

Harvest Advice for Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax) in British Columbia Waters for 2021

Regional Science Response Process – Pacific Region

May 31, 2021
Virtual Meeting

Chairperson: Linnea Flostrand

Context

Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax) from the northern subpopulation of the eastern Pacific Ocean (associated with the California Current Ecosystem) has a distribution that can range between Baja California to southeast Alaska. In winter and spring months, most of this stock has the tendency to occur in waters off the California coast in association with spawning. Prior to, and during summer months, large aggregations of Pacific Sardine migrate from spawning habitat to more northern waters mainly to forage. Migratory patterns can be affected by age structure, population size and oceanographic conditions. Typically, most Pacific Sardine that migrate into British Columbia (BC) waters are the larger and older fish in the population.  Pacific Sardine has not been fished in BC waters since 2012 due to reduced migration (a general absence of Pacific Sardine in BC waters) and fishery closures in 2015 to 2020.

To calculate potential harvest options for the BC sardine fishery, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) adopted a harvest control rule in 2013 that applies a harvest rate to an estimate of age-1 and older (age1+) biomass that exceeds 150,000 t (DFO 2013). As described in the 2013 science advisory report, Harvest rates (h) ranging from 3 to 5% were selected to calculate the range of potential harvest options.

The 2021 assessment of the northern subpopulation of Pacific Sardine by the United States (US) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) occurred in April 2021. The acoustic-trawl survey that was intended to be the main source of information in assessment efforts was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Recognizing the information gaps from not having survey information, a catch-only projection model was planned for generating results for use in 2021. However, due to complications associated with fitting a catch-only model with catch information for Mexico, the catch-only assessment method was not endorsed and results from the  benchmark assessment were recommended for use in 2021 instead (Kuriyama et al. 2020, Pacific Fishery Management Council 2021).

DFO Fisheries Management has requested that Science Branch use information available from the 2021 U.S. stock assessment process of the northern subpopulation of Pacific Sardine to provide harvest advice for Pacific Sardine for the 2021 season as per the harvest control rule described in DFO (2013). The advice arising from this Canadian Science Advice Secretariat (CSAS) Science Response (SR) will be used to inform management decisions on the 2021 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the Canadian Pacific Sardine Fishery.

Objectives

Science information and advice will be prepared on harvest options for Pacific Sardine in BC using the process described in DFO (2013) and a Science Response will be used to document outcomes.

The objectives of this SR process are to:

1. Report the results of applying the harvest control rule for a range of harvest rates from 0.03 to 0.05 in increments of 0.01, if the expected stock biomass is above the escapement buffer of 150,000 t.
2. Identify uncertainties associated with the 2021 harvest advice.

Expected Publication

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• DFO (Science, Fisheries Management)
• Commercial Sardine Fishing Industry (e.g. the Canadian Pacific Sardine Association and First Nation Sardine Association)
• NOAA (United States National Marine Fisheries Service)

References

• DFO 2013. Review of harvest control rules for Pacific Sardine and seasonal biomass and migration in British Columbia for 2013. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2013/037.
• Kuriyama, P.T., Zwolinski, J.P., Hill, K.T., and Crone, P.R. 2020. Assessment of the Pacific sardine resource in 2020 for U.S. management in 2020-21. Pacific Fishery Management Council, April 2020 Briefing Book, Agenda Item D.3, Attachment 1. Portland, Oregon.
• Pacific Fishery Management Council. 2021. Scientific and Statistical Committee report on Pacific Sardine assessment, harvest specification and management measures- Final Action. Agenda Item E.4.a Supplemental SSC Report 1, April 2021.