Terms of Reference

Northwest Atlantic Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) Population Assessment and Harvest Advice for 2025-2029

National Peer Review - National Capital Region

December 3-6, 2024

Montreal, QC

Chairpersons: Emma Hodgson and Lisa Setterington

Context

The harp seal is the most abundant pinniped in the North Atlantic. The Northwest Atlantic harp seal population summers in the eastern Canadian Arctic and adjacent waters and then migrates south along the continental shelf in the fall to overwinter and reproduce in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off northeastern Newfoundland before returning north. The Northwest Atlantic population is hunted throughout its range; seals are harvested for subsistence purposes by Inuit in Labrador, Arctic Canada and Greenland, and a commercial harvest occurs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off Newfoundland. Subsistence harvests are currently not regulated while the commercial harvest is regulated by a five-year management plan.

Harp seal stock status is assessed with a population model which is informed by the time series of pup production, reproductive rates, age structure, removals and environmental conditions. The most recent pup-production survey was completed in March 2022. Both the population status and advice on sustainable harvest need to be updated to include the results of the 2022 survey and recent data on reproductive rates, age structure, removals and environmental conditions .

The current Precautionary Approach to Atlantic seal management (the Atlantic Seal Management Strategy) was developed approximately 20 years ago (Hammill and Stenson 2003, 2007) and in this time, DFO has adopted a separate management framework for managing non-seal fisheries (DFO 2009). A review of the existing framework for Atlantic seals to ensure consistency with DFO’s Precautionary Approach will provide a more unified approach to the management of marine mammals, including Atlantic seals . Additionally, a need was identified to clarify the guidance on the recovery factor to be used when applying Potential Biological Removal (PBR) to determine sustainable removals.

Objectives

The objectives of this peer-review are to review three Working Papers (Research Documents):

1. Review of the Atlantic Seal Management Strategy:
1. Review the existing Atlantic Seal Management Strategy and revise as necessary to ensure consistency with DFO's Precautionary Approach. This review will include clarifying the criteria for selecting the recovery factor to use when calculating PBR.
2. Pup production of harp seals:
1. Review the 2022 harp seal pup production survey and provide an estimate of pup production for 2022.
3. Assessment and harvest advice:
1. Evaluate stock status using a population model informed by the 2022 pup production estimate and recent data on reproductive rates, age structure, removals and environmental conditions.
2. Provide advice on the sustainable harvest levels for the harp seal fishery for the next 5 years (2025-2029) which respects management objectives under the reviewed Atlantic Seal Management Strategy for three harvest age structures:
1. 5% adults / 95% young of the year (YOY)
2. 10% adults / 90% YOY
3. 50% adults / 50% YOY
3. Provide advice on an annual PBR for this population.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Research Documents

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science Sector and Fisheries Management Sector)
• Academia
• Non-government organizations
• Other experts

References

• DFO. 2009. A fishery decision-making framework incorporating the precautionary approach.
• Hammill, M. O., & Stenson, G. B. 2003. Application of the precautionary approach and conservation reference point to the management of Atlantic seals. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2003/067.
• Hammill, M. O., & Stenson, G. B. 2007. Application of the precautionary approach and conservation reference points to management of Atlantic seals. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64(4), 702-706.