Science Advisory Report  2015/013

Assessment of snow crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Areas 12, 19, 12E and 12F) and advice for the 2015 fishery

Summary

• Snow crab in fishing areas 12, 19, 12E, and 12F comprise a single biological population and the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence stock is considered as one unit for assessment purposes.
• The landings of snow crab from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2014 were 24,439 t from a revised quota of 24,230 t.
• The resulting exploitation rate of the 2014 fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was estimated at 37.1%.
• The 2014 post-fishery survey biomass of commercial-sized adult male crabs was estimated at 67,534 t (95% confidence interval of 60,994 to 74,579 t), an increase of 2.5% from 2013. The available biomass for the 2015 fishery, derived from the 2014 survey, is within the healthy zone of the Precautionary Approach (PA) framework.
• Total commercial biomass in the 2014 survey was composed 65% of new recruitment (43,630 t) and 35% of residual biomass (23,897 t). The recruitment to the commercial biomass increased by 11.9% relative to the previous year.
• Based on the agreed harvest decision rule which has been assessed as compliant with the PA, the point estimate of the biomass in the 2014 survey of 67,534 t corresponds to an exploitation rate of 38.55% giving a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 26,036 t for the 2015 fishery.
• The risk analysis indicates that the 2015 TAC derived from the harvest decision rule will result in a near zero chance of the residual biomass after the 2015 fishery being less than B_lim and a near 100% chance of the biomass for the 2016 fishery being above B_USR and in the healthy zone of the PA.
• The risk analysis also provides predictions of the commercial biomass in the 2015 survey, assuming the corresponding catch level is taken. At the decision rule TAC value of 26,036 t for the 2015 fishery, the commercial biomass predicted for the 2015 post-fishery survey and for the 2016 fishery, is 65,680 t, with a 95% confidence interval range of 54,800 to 76,410 t, a value similar to the 2014 survey.

Fishery performance in 2014 in Area 12:

• The 2014 landings in Area 12 were 19,633 t from a revised quota of 19,409 t.
• The CPUE (expressed as kg per trap haul (kg/th)) in 2014 (61.8 kg/th) decreased compared to 2013 (76.4 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab increased from 2.8% in 2013 to 4.4% in 2014.

Fishery performance in 2014 in Area 19:

• The 2014 landings in Area 19 were 3,745 t from a revised quota of 3,745 t.
• The CPUE in 2014 (147.4 kg/th) is comparable to 2013 (148.5 kg/th).
• The incidence of white-crab decreased from 3.0% in 2013 to 1.0% in 2014.

Fishery performance in 2014 in Area 12E:

• In Area 12E, the landings were 178  t from a revised quota of 170 t.
• The CPUE in 2014 (47.3 kg/th) increased compared to 2013 (40.1 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab in 2014 decreased to 7.8%, compared to 15.9% in 2013.

Fishery performance in 2014 in Area 12F:

• The 2014 landings in Area 12F were 882 t from a revised quota of 906 t.
• The CPUE in 2014 (38.1 kg/th) decreased compared to 2013 (49.0 kg/th).
• The incidence of soft-shelled crab decreased from 2.4% in 2013 to 1.7% in 2014.

This Science Advisory Report is from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, regional advisory meeting of January 27-28, 2015 on the Assessment of the status of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab stock. Additional publications from this process will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.

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