Terms of Reference

Stock Status Update of Herring in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Fishing Areas 4VWX

Regional Peer Review – Maritimes Region

March 20, 2024

Virtual Meeting

Chairperson: Rabindra Singh

Context

Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) is a pelagic species found on both sides of the North Atlantic. The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 4VWX management unit contains a number of Herring spawning areas. For the purposes of evaluation and management, the 4VWX Herring fisheries are divided into four components:

1. Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy (SWNS/BoF) spawning component (also ‘4WX’ in management plan);
2. Offshore Scotian Shelf banks spawning component;
3. Coastal (South Shore, Eastern Shore and Cape Breton) Nova Scotia spawning component; and
4. Southwest New Brunswick (SWNB) migrant juveniles.

The Georges Bank spawning component (5Z) is not included in this evaluation except to document Canadian fishing activity. A framework review was conducted from 2019 to 2022 for the Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy (SWNS/BoF) spawning component (Barrett 2023, Carruthers et al. 2023) followed by a stock assessment in March 2022 (DFO 2022). This science response process will use the 2022 assessment framework to determine whether exceptional circumstances have occurred. The status of the SWNS/BoF component will be compared to the limit reference point (LRP; Clark et al. 2012). The probability of rebuilding SWNS/BoF component above the LRP will be evaluated based on the Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) modeling from the 2022 assessment framework. Stock status of the other spawning components for the 4VWX Herring stock will also be reported using indicators based on the 2018 stock assessment (DFO 2018).

Objectives

Review and update biological and fishery information on 4VWX Herring stock status to assist with quota and other management recommendations for 2024 fisheries, as required in the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan, including but not limited to:

• Evaluation of the indicators for the SWNS/BoF spawning component.
• Update and review of information regarding the Offshore Scotian Shelf spawning component and Coastal Nova Scotia spawning component, including update survey results.
• Update of the Southwest New Brunswick migrant juvenile fishery component.
• Evaluation of the fishery with respect to the LRP for the SWNS/BoF component.
• Update and review the runs of the predetermined candidate Management Procedure(s) (MP) simulation tests on the Reference Set of Operating Models for the SWNS/BoF component.
• Provide advice on the probability of rebuilding above the LRP over the projection period for each predetermined candidate MP when applied as a Harvest Control Rule for the SWNS/BoF component.
• Determine if exceptional circumstances have occurred for the SWNS/BoF component.

Expected Publication

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• DFO Science
• DFO Resource Management

References

• Barrett, T.J. 2023. Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy Herring: Management Strategy Evaluation Framework. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2023/061. iv + 25 p.
• Carruthers, T.R., Hordyk, A.R., Huynh, Q.C., Singh, R., and Barrett, T.J. 2023. A Framework for Conditioning Operating Models for the Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy Spawning Component of 4VWX Herring. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2023/022. v + 103 p.
• DFO. 2018. 2018 Assessment of 4VWX Herring. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2018/052.
• DFO. 2022. 2022 Assessment of 4VWX Herring. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2022/050.
• Clark, D.S., Clark, K.J., Claytor, R., Leslie, S., Melvin, G.D., Porter, J.M., Power, M.J., Stone, H.H., and Waters, C. 2012. Limit Reference Point for Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy spawning component of Atlantic herring, (Clupea harengus) (German Bank and Scots Bay). DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/025.