Improving Fisheries Governance in the Northwest Atlantic

The text version of the presentation is available below. The PowerPoint presentation is also available as a Microsoft PowerPoint file (*.ppt).

Slide 1: Full Accounting for Catches – An increasing necessity for sustainable fisheries management

Slide 2: The Issue

Accurate catch reporting is:

• A core element of sustainable fisheries management.
• Necessary for demonstrating compliance with various international commitments.
• An area of interest to Canada; we will work with all interested parties on this pillar of sustainability.

Slide 3: Some Domestic Requirements

• Need for reliable and timely recording of all species and areas;
• Coverage of all fisheries;
• Full accounting: targeted catch, by-catch, and discards (including Species at Risk and species of no commercial value );
• Need for a diversity of monitoring tools:
  • Vessel monitoring systems (VMS),
  • Dockside monitoring & port inspections programs,
  • At-sea observer programs, and
  • Electronic Monitoring and electronic logs (E-logs)

Slide 4: Some Canadian Experiences

1. British Columbia Groundfish fisheries – 2006 Commercial Groundfish Integration Program.
2. Georges Bank – Canada-US cooperation in the management of cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder stocks.

Slide 5: Pacific Commercial Groundfish Integration Program

• 2006 implementation of the Commercial Groundfish Integration Pilot Program in the Pacific region
  • Covers more than 60 different stocks of groundfish
  • Consolidation of management plans of 6 fisheries into 1
  • Individual Quotas (IQs) in all fisheries
  • Individual vessel accountable for all catches (mortality)
  • Individual quota trading between vessels and fisheries
  • 100% at-sea monitoring

Slide 6: Audit-Based Monitoring

• Combination of log books / camera coverage / dockside monitoring
• Log books and catches monitored using the camera footage.
• For discrepancies, additional camera footage reviews – incremental costs to fishers.

Slide 7: Benefits and Challenges of the Program

• Improved data collection
• Provides state-of-the-art monitoring to help ensure that: conservation objectives are met; harvests remain within TACs; closed areas are protected.
• Main challenges are:
  • Cost to harvesters,
  • Development of new management system

Slide 8: Another Example: Atlantic Coast

• Georges Bank – Canadian and U.S. cooperation
  • Jointly assessing and managing cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder
  • Agreement to account for all removals of directed fisheries and any other fishery that may take these species as bycatch/discard
  • extensive observer coverage

Slide 9: Conclusion

• Catch reporting is a key element of sustainable fisheries management.
• Effective reporting alone might not guarantee sustainability, but is a necessary condition for it.
• With sound data we enable ourselves to make better decisions for the long-term sustainability of the fish stocks.