Terms of Reference

Stock Status Update for Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Striped Shrimp (P. montagui) in the Eastern Assessment Zone and Western Assessment Zone, February 2024

Regional Peer Review - Ontario and Prairie Region

February 6, 2024

Virtual Meeting

Chairperson: Sheila Atchison

Context

In the Arctic Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Fisheries Management requests a biennial stock assessment for Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Striped Shrimp (Pandalus montagui) in the Eastern and Western Assessment Zones (EAZ/WAZ). While monitoring occurs every year, DFO Science conducts a full stock assessment, which examines available fishery data to evaluate the state of the stock (stock status indicators) and environmental factors that could affect the stocks (i.e., climate, oceanographic conditions, predator-prey relationships) every 2 years. In the interim-years, DFO Science provides an update on the status of the stocks, which generally serves as a mechanism to check-in on only the stock status indicators (i.e., biomass and exploitation rate indices) within the context of the Precautionary Approach Framework. The full stock assessment and the stock status updates are used by DFO Fisheries Management to inform the co-management decision-making process on annual harvest advice for the fisheries. The last full stock assessment peer-review meeting was held in February 2023, and all stocks were determined to be in the Healthy Zone, except the EAZ Northern Shrimp which was in the cautious zone (DFO 2023). Since harvest advice is issued annually, DFO Fisheries Management has requested a stock status update to inform decision-making for the upcoming 2024/25 fishing season. This stock status update reports on the catches to the end of the 2023 fishing season and biomass indices from the 2023 survey using the limit reference points developed in 2020 (DFO 2020).

Objectives

The objective of this peer-review meeting is to review and update the stock status indicators (biomass indices, exploitation rate indices) and catches for Northern Shrimp and Striped Shrimp in the EAZ and WAZ within the context of the Precautionary Approach Framework (Limit Reference Points and proposed Upper Stock Reference Points).

Expected Publication

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Science and Fisheries Management sectors (Newfoundland and Labrador Region, Arctic Region, and National Capital Region)

References

• DFO. 2020. Science Advice on Limit Reference Points for Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Striped Shrimp (Pandalus montagui) in the Eastern and Western Assessment Zones. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2020/053.
• DFO. 2023. Assessment of Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Striped Shrimp (Pandalus montagui) in the Eastern and Western Assessment Zones, February 2023. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2023/013.