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Science Response 2014/052

Stock status update and quota options for the Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) fishery in British Columbia, 2013-2016

Context

Stock assessments and quota options for British Columbia’s Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) fishery are conducted every three years. They provide advice to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Fisheries Management for the development of the fishery’s multi-year Integrated Fishery Management Plans (IFMPs). The last stock assessment was conducted in 2010 (Waddell et al. 2010). The present paper updates the previously published assessment results using the most recently available commercial catch and survey information. A new three-year IFMP for 2013-2016 will be developed following advice from this paper.

DFO Fisheries Management has requested advice for the Green Sea Urchin fishery in British Columbia (BC), by spring 2013, on the following:

  1. the ranges of sustainable harvest quotas for the commercial harvest areas (Pacific Fisheries Management Areas (PFMAs) 12, 13, 18 and 19);
  2. the risks or uncertainties associated with the range of harvest options;
  3. the recent trends in the local populations and population structure for Green Sea Urchins where data exist; and
  4. recommendations for additional research or stock assessment programs.

This paper assesses Green Sea Urchin stocks in regions of BC open to commercial fishing, through the analysis of fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data. The quota options presented are derived from a Bayesian assessment model that has been used in the assessment of BC’s Green Sea Urchin stock since 2003 (Perry et al. 2003; Zhang and Perry 2005; Perry et al. 2006; Waddell et al. 2010). Modifications to the survey protocol, which took place in 2011, are described and results compared to previous methods.

This Science Response Report results from the Science Special Response Process of April 2013 on Stock Status Update and Quota Options for the Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) Fishery in British Columbia, 2013-2016.

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