RockfishLingcod Sustainability Strategy

1
Rockfish/Lingcod Sustainability Strategy

• 2004/05

2
Information Flow

• How will feedback be integrated for final
  decision?

3
Rockfish/Lingcod Sustainability Strategy 2004/05

• Key Components
• Harvest Reduction
• Catch Monitoring
• Establishment of Rockfish Conservation Areas
  RCAs (Closed Area Strategy)
• Stock Assessment Framework
• Education and Awareness
• Next Steps

4
Harvest Reduction

• Commercial and Recreational
• No changes to current fishery management plan
  established in 2002
• Total commercial fisheries Yelloweye 50
  reduction from 2001 TAC
• Total coastwide aggregate 12 46 reduction from
  2001 TAC
• Recreational daily bag reductions Inside 5 to
  1, North Coast 8 to 5, Outside 5 to 3
• 
  
• Future Objectives
• Catch and bycatch accountability/selectivity
• Advance integrated fisheries management plan
• Continued investigation of electronic monitoring
  for the commercial fishery

5
Harvest Reduction (contd)

• First Nations
• Consultation ongoing, constitutionally protected
  FSC fishery, expand involvement in Rockfish
  Strategy
• Voluntary compliance through mutually accepted
  agreements
• Future Objectives
• Improve accuracy, time, area coverage and catch
  information.
• Incorporate rockfish strategy into communal
  fishing licences, i.e. catch information

6
Catch Monitoring

• Commercial/Recreational
• Continue to improve upon accuracy of catch data
• Overall improvement to at sea catch monitoring
  in all sectors
• Future Objectives
• Establish standard coverage criteria and
  implement
• Continue to improve upon accuracy of catch data
• Expedite fishery integration process
• Promote selectivity/accountability within all
  fisheries
• Species awareness, identification, education
• (i.e. Minimize catch/release/high-grading)

7
Catch Monitoring (contd)

• First Nations
• Consultation ongoing
• Future Objectives
• Improve accuracy of catch information.
• Increase participation by First Nations in
  conservation strategy implementation
• Expanded voluntary compliance within closed area
  strategy
• Emphasis on acquiring communal licence catch
  information

8
Closed Area Strategy Rockfish Conservation
Areas (RCAs)

• 89 RCAs implemented in April 2004
• Consolidation of all inshore Rockfish closures
• Reviewed/standardized permitted fishing
  activities within RCAs
• Completed development of habitat/catch data model
  to identify candidate RCAs

9
Permitted Fishing Within RockfishConservation
Areas

• Recreational
• Invertebrates by hand picking or dive
• Crab by trap
• Prawn by trap
• Smelt by gillnet
• Commercial
• Invertebrates by hand picking or dive
• Crab by trap
• Prawn by trap
• Scallops by scallop trawl
• Euphausiid by mid-water trawl
• Groundfish by mid-water trawl
• Opal squid by seine
• Herring by gillnet, seine and spawn-on-kelp
• Sardine by gillnet, seine, and trap
• Smelt by gillnet
• Salmon by seine or gillnet

10
Closed Area Strategy (contd)

• Future Objectives
• Maintain dedicated enforcement within the RCAs
• Continue to work towards closed area targets for
  Rockfish habitat as identified in 2002
• Up to 20 for outside waters
• Up to 50 for Strait of Georgia
• Continue to involve First Nations, the Province
  of BC, key stakeholders and other interested
  groups
• Develop and implement the monitoring and
  assessment program for indexed RCAs

11
Stock Assessment

• Rockfish
• Conducted long-line and jig surveys to index
  abundance
• Conducted submersible survey to evaluate fish
  densities by habitat type
• Co-operative research with Pacific Geoscience
  Centre for marine habitat mapping
• Co-operative research with SFU, UBC, Vancouver
  Aquarium to assess rockfish abundance

12
Stock Assessment

• Strait of Georgia Lingcod
• Implemented lingcod assessment program as
  approved through the Pacific Scientific Advice
  Review Committee (PSARC) process
• Juvenile trawl for young of the year
• Hand line and egg-mass surveys
• Archival tagging to investigate post spawning
  migratory behaviour
• Modeling to develop management framework

13
Rockfish/Lingcod Stock Assessment (contd)

• Future Objectives
• Complete reports for all surveys, December 2004
• Establish assessment protocol for closed areas
• Integrate lingcod and rockfish assessments as
  much as possible
• Encourage co-operative research programs
• Continue to investigate habitat-based survey
  methodology
• Expand the monitoring and assessment program into
  the North and Central Coast areas
• Encourage and expand upon stakeholder involvement

14
Education and Awareness

• News releases/stories/magazine articles/radio
  interviews/website
• Developed and distributed
• Maps showing closures
• Brochures with conservation messages
• Laminated ground-fish identification charts
  included in commercial log-books
• Conservation and Protection brought into
  stewardship approach
• Public consultation

15
Education and Awareness (contd)

• Future Objectives
• Approach advocacy groups for strategy support
• Integrate marine stewardship into freshwater
  programs
• Investigate external funding sources (i.e.
  Pacific Salmon Foundation)

16
Rockfish/Lingcod Sustainability Strategy Next
Steps

• Develop rebuilding objectives
• Clarify stock assessment approach for lingcod and
  rockfish
• Implement and incorporate monitoring and
  assessment programs into the Departments core
  funding
• Advance the development of marine habitat and
  stock density relationships
• Establish monitored index sites coast-wide
• Examine current indices of abundance relative to
  historic data

17
Next Steps (contd)

• Examine current estimates of abundance relative
  to the most recent survey data
• Investigate partnerships to assist with the
  technical and financial components of the
  strategy
• Investigate opportunities for a limited fishery
  mortality for lingcod within Strait of Georgia
• Advance fishing selectivity/accountability in all
  fishing sectors including regulatory changes and
  financial support

18
Development of Candidate RCAsNorth, Central
and WCVI

• How we arrived at current proposals
• Reviewed catch data by area from 1996-2003
• Developed habitat complexity model based on slope
  changes
• Why we are here today
• Review candidate sites through presentation
• What will we do with the information/feedback?
• Evaluation/Technical Review
• Proximity/Size/Distribution
• Technical/traditional knowledge
• Areas of common agreement, address severe
  socio-economic impacts
• Enforceability through regulations and
  recognizable to the public

19
Information Flow

• How will feedback be integrated for final
  decision?

20
Timelines

• Consultation October/November, 2004
• Deadline for comments December 31, 2004
• Review and Recommendations February 2005
• Implementation April 2005

21
FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Please see DFOs Rockfish/Lingcod Sustainability
  Strategy consultation website
• www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
• Thank you!