Terms of Reference

A data synopsis for British Columbia groundfish: 2021 update

Regional Science Response Process – Pacific Region

March 29, 2022
Virtual meeting

Chairperson: Sean Anderson

Context

The combination of fishery-dependent data, such as catch and effort, and fishery-independent survey data, such as biomass indices and age compositions, form the backbone of most fisheries stock assessments. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) manages vast quantities of such data on groundfish species in British Columbia (BC). However, formal stock assessments are not conducted on an annual basis for most stocks, therefore, much of these data are not summarised to represent the nature of the data holdings.

The groundfish data synopsis report was developed to provide a snapshot of long-term and recent population and fishing trends, as well as data availability, for all major BC groundfish species of commercial and conservation interest (Anderson et al. 2019; Anderson et al. 2020). The report was published as a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Research Document (Anderson et al. 2019) to facilitate review of the methods, with the intent to update the report on a biennial schedule.

The groundfish data synopsis report has been used regularly by DFO Science and Fisheries Management staff, First Nations, environmental non-governmental organizations, and stakeholders. The usefulness of the report depends on it containing up-to-date data. Since the initial 2019 report, two new years of survey and commercial data are now available, as well as updated stock assessment Research Documents and Science Advisory Reports.

DFO Science Branch has requested an update to the groundfish data synopsis report including all commercial and survey data available up to 2021. The advice arising from this CSAS Science Response (SR) will provide an overview of available groundfish data and fishing and population trends to inform DFO Science and Fisheries Management staff in stock monitoring and prioritization. The update will apply the previously peer reviewed approach to generate up-to-date figures representing data such as biomass indices, commercial catch, species distribution, and age and length composition data for the 113 species included in the report.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this review are to:

1. Provide an update to the groundfish data synopsis report that adds new commercial and survey data since the 2019 report:
1. include 2020 and 2021 survey data and 2019, 2020, and possibly 2021 commercial data depending on data availability; and
2. include references to new relevant CSAS documents and updates to COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) and SARA (Species at Risk Act) status.
2. Provide advice on how to interpret the report given new data, including any important caveats and uncertainties.

Expected Publications

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science)

References

• Anderson, S.C., E.A. Keppel, A.M. Edwards. 2019. A reproducible data synopsis for over 100 species of British Columbia groundfish. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/041. vii + 321 p.
• Anderson, S.C., E.A. Keppel, A.M. Edwards. 2020. Reproducible visualization of raw fisheries data for 113 species improves transparency, assessment efficiency, and monitoring. Fisheries. 45:535–543.