Terms of Reference

Updated assessment of Bocaccio Rockfish in British Columbia

Regional Peer Review - Pacific Region

May 29, 2012
Nanaimo, British Columbia

Chairperson: Andrew Edwards

Context

On January 15, 2004, the Minister of the Environment received a document on Bocaccio from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) which assessed the Bocaccio population in British Columbia waters as Threatened. This prompted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to conduct extended consultations with the government of British Columbia, Aboriginal peoples, stakeholders, and the public on whether or not the Bocaccio population should be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Schedule 1) under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Results of these consultations led the Governor in Council, through the Minister of the Environment, on April 6, 2006 to refer the assessment back to COSEWIC for further information and consideration. (See the Species at Risk Public Registry page given below for further details of decisions).

In December 2006, COSEWIC reaffirmed the original assessment without reassessing the species, citing an absence of new information that would lead to a change in the status of this species. In 2010, the Governement of Canada, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, acknowledged receipt of the Bocaccio assessment conducted under subsection 23(1) of the Species at Risk Act by COSEWIC.

Following extensive review, the Governor in Council in 2011 decided not to add Bocaccio to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk.  This decision was based on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, taking into account the assessments provided by COSEWIC.

Although it was recognized that the stock was likely in the “critical zone” under the DFO Precautionary Approach (DFO 2009, Stanley et al. 2009), the decision was made after weighing the costs of listing against the anticipated benefits. It was determined that the costs of protection under SARA would likely outweigh the benefits to Canadians.

However, the statement noted that protective measures would be taken under existing legislative tools such as the Fisheries Act, as well as non-legislative tools such as government programs and actions by non-governmental organizations, which may provide protection to Bocaccio.

Among the steps taken to provide protection to the Bocaccio population, an updated DFO assessment of Bocaccio was scheduled for review in 2011 or 2012, that would not only update previous work with four more years of data, but coincide with a COSEWIC re-assessment scheduled for 2012.

Objectives

The objective of this Regional Peer Review Meeting is to review the following working paper:

Richard D. Stanley, Murdoch McAllister, and Paul J. Starr. Updated stock assessment for Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) in British Columbia waters for 2012. CSAP Working Paper 2012/P42.

The objectives of the working paper are to:

• update the previous assessment with four more years of data;
• provide, with rationale, a Limit Reference Point, an Upper Stock Reference, a Target Reference Point and a Removal Reference, guided by the DFO Sustainable Fisheries Framework (DFO 2009);
• assess the status of the stock relative to the recommended reference points;
• predict the consequences of varying harvest levels on future population trends.

The resulting information and advice may be used to assist development of groundfish management plans.

Expected publications

• CSAS Science Advisory Report (1)
• CSAS Research Document (1)
• CSAS Proceedings (1)

Participation

• DFO Science Branch, Fisheries Management Branch and Ecosystems Management Branch
• Province of BC
• Commercial and recreational fishing interests
• First Nations
• Non-government organizations
• Academia
• External reviewers
• Other stakeholders

References

Species at Risk Public Registry page for Bocaccio (including links to aforementioned recommendations and decisions)

DFO. 2007. Revised Protocol for Conducting Recovery Potential Assessments. DFO. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2007/039. (Revised in April 2009).

DFO. 2009. A fishery decision-making framework incorporating the Precautionary Approach. Last modified 23^rd March 2009.

DFO. 2009. Recovery Potential Assessment for bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis). DFO. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2009/040.

Stanley, R.D., M. McAllister, P. Starr, and N. Olsen.  2009. Stock assessment for bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) in British Columbia waters. DFO. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/055.