Rebuilding plan: Atlantic Herring, Clupea harengus, spring spawner component - NAFO Division 4T

Gulf Region:

• Date stock was determined to be at or below the limit reference point (LRP): 2001
• Date stock was prescribed to the fish stocks provisions (FSP): April 4, 2022
• Date rebuilding plan approved: March 26, 2024

On this page

• Summary
• Glossary and abbreviations
• Important definitions used in this document
• Foreword
• 1.0 Introduction and context
  • 1.1 Population and distribution
  • 1.2 Biology
  • 1.3 Habitat requirements
  • 1.4 Ecosystem interactions
  • 1.5 The fishery
  • 1.6 Overview of the fishery socio-economic and cultural importance
  • 1.7 Involvement of stakeholder and Indigenous groups in the development of the plan
• 2.0 Stock status and stock trends
  • 2.1 Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
  • 2.2 Indigenous knowledge
• 3.0 Probable causes for the stock’s decline
• 4.0 Measurable objectives aimed at rebuilding the stock
  • 4.1 Rebuilding target and timeline
  • 4.2 Additional measurable objectives and timelines
• 5.0 Management measures aimed at achieving the objectives
• 6.0 Socio-economic analysis
• 7.0 Method to track progress towards achieving the objectives
• 8.0 Periodic review of the rebuilding plan
• 9.0 References
• Annex 1: Management measures until the next review of the rebuilding plan in 2026

Summary

The Atlantic herring population in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) consists of 2 spawning components:

1. spring spawners components
2. fall spawners components

These 2 herring components are defined as different stocks and managed over 2 fishing season (spring and fall) and across 7 Herring Fishing Areas (HFA) within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 4T. A distinct Total Allowable Catch (TACs) for the 2 spawning components has been established since 1985 but, to simplify fishery management, quota and allocations are determined on a seasonal, rather than spawning component basis.

Annual landings in the spring and fall fishing seasons have shown a steady decline over the 1999 to 2021 period. The most acute decline was observed during the spring fishing season, when spring spawners are caught. As the biomass of spring spawners was entering the critical zone of the Precautionary Approach (PA) framework, TACs were gradually reduced from 21,000 t in the early 1990’s to 500 t for the 2020 and 2021 spring fishing seasons. The Atlantic herring spring spawner component of the sGSL has remained in the critical zone of the PA since 2001. Due to the lack of stock recovery and its continuing critical state, the directed spring season commercial and bait fisheries targeting the spring spawner component of the stock were closed in 2022.

Spring spawning herring recruitment level has been demonstrated to be driven by environmental effects, while recruitment variations are not driven strongly by spawning biomass. The Gulf of St. Lawrence is seeing a trend towards:

• warmer waters
• shorter duration of ice season
• lower ice volume
• changes in primary and secondary production phenology (herring food sources)

The sea surface temperature of the sGSL and the spring spawning herring recruitment abruptly shifted from a cold water/high recruitment regime (1978-1991) to a warmer water/low recruitment regime (1992-2017) in the early 1990s. The spring spawning herring stock is less likely to rebuild in the current regime of warmer water/low recruitment.

As outlined in the PA framework, the primary objective of this rebuilding plan is to promote the sGSL Atlantic herring spring spawner component growth out of the critical zone, by ensuring that removals from all fishing sources are kept to the lowest possible level until the stock has cleared this zone. Within the critical zone, this objective remains the same whether the stock is declining, stable or increasing. Based on the PA framework, the overarching objective of the rebuilding plan is therefore to grow the stock out of the critical zone. The rebuilding target for the plan will be to grow the stock so that its spawning stock biomass (SSB) level is above the Limit Reference Point (LRP) of 51,938 t, with a high likelihood (≥75%). If the rebuilding target can be reached, the long-term management objective under the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) will be to continue the stock’s growth toward the healthy zone and then maintain the SSB in that zone.

Unfortunately, even with no fishing, both the short term and long-term prospects (SSB projections until 2027 and 2069 respectively) to rebuild the Atlantic herring spring spawner component appear unlikely given current environmental conditions of poor recruitment and high natural mortality. The current warmer water/low recruitment regime, reduced weight-at-age and high natural mortality conditions (mainly predation) are limiting the likelihood of stock growth. Some spring spawner long term population projections models, using different scenarios of recruitment and environment relationship, were tested from year 2020 to 2069. The most promising models showed little changes in SSB over time and the stock staying in the critical zone of the PA.

A timeline to rebuild could not be calculated since even in the absence of fishing mortality, the stock is unlikely to rebuild under prevailing stock productivity and ecosystem conditions. The timeline is therefore set to the 6 year generation time for the spring spawner component (Burbank et al. 2023, DFO 2024a) starting in 2024.

During each review of the plan, the factors limiting the stock’s potential for growth will be re-assessed to determine if they are still influencing the stock and if new scientific information can support the need to review the rebuilding target and/or timeline. In the meantime, and consistent with the PA framework, this rebuilding plan still aims at minimizing, to the extent possible, further declines of the stock. This is to preserve the stock such that, should the prevailing conditions limiting the stock’s recovery change, the stock retains the potential to rebuild.

Guided by the PA framework, management actions set out in this rebuilding plan maintain low fishing mortality to support rebuilding while continuing to monitor and assess the stocks. This will be done through:

• Keeping removals from all sources to the lowest possible level by continuing to implement and/or develop new management measures on all fisheries that direct for, or intercept, spring spawner herring. This will be achieved by:
  • maintaining the closure of the commercial and bait spring fisheries targeting spring spawners,
  • maintaining spring spawner bycatch limits for the mobile fleet while targeting the fall spawning component, and
  • setting a catch limit on sampling activities undertaken by Science.
• Monitoring sources of fishing mortality and enforcing compliance of management measures.
• Advancing current scientific knowledge in the fields of monitoring stock status, recruitment, environmental conditions, and those ecosystem factors that are likely to impact the stock’s recruitment, growth, habitat and health.

Glossary and abbreviations

AFS

Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy

Brecover

The lowest historical SSB from which the stock was able to recover

CHP

Conservation and Harvesting Plan

COSEWIC

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

CSAS

Canadian Scientific Advisory Secretariat

DFO

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

DU

Designated Unit as defined by the COSEWIC

F

Fishing mortality

F0.1

Removal reference in the healthy zone of the PA corresponding to the fishing mortality rate at which the marginal yield-per-recruit (i.e., the increase in yield-per-recruit in weight for an increase in one unit of fishing mortality) is only 10% of the marginal yield-per-recruit on the unexploited stock

FSC

Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries by First Nations and indigenous organizations

FSP

Fish Stocks Provisions in the amended Fisheries Act (2019)

GSL

Gulf of St. Lawrence

GSPAC

Gulf Small Pelagics Advisory Committee

IFMP

Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (somewhat similar to the CHP but with more details to guide the conservation and sustainable use of the resource)

LRP

Limit Reference Point at the critical-cautious zone boundary of the precautionary approach framework.

M

Natural mortality

MCMC

Markov chain Monte Carlo; class of algorithms for sampling from a probability distribution

NAFO

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization

PA

Precautionary approach

RR

Removal reference is the maximum acceptable removal rate for the stock

RV survey

Research Vessel survey (scientific) conducted annually in September

SARA

Species at Risk Act

sGSL

Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

SSB

Spawning Stock Biomass

t

metric ton

TAC

Total Allowable Catch

TRP

Target reference point determined by productivity objectives for the stock, broader biological considerations and social and economic objectives for the fishery

USR

Upper Stock Reference Point at the cautious-healthy zone boundary

Important definitions used in this document

Fixed gear fleet

Harvesters licensed to use gillnets (also call gillnetters).

Fall fishing season

Fishing season running from early July to end of December targeting fall spawners but may also include some spring spawners.

Fall spawners

Component of the Atlantic herring population that spawn in the fall.

Mobile gear fleet

Harvesters licensed to use purse seines (also call seiners)

Spring fishing season

Fishing season running from January to the end of June (but practically from mid-April to end of June) targeting spring spawners but may also include some fall spawners.

Spring spawners

Component of the Atlantic herring population that spawn in the spring.

Foreword

In 2009, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) developed a Fisheries Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach (PA Policy)^{Footnote 1} under the auspices of the Sustainable Fisheries Framework^{Footnote 2}. It outlines the departmental methodology for applying the precautionary approach (PA) to Canadian fisheries. A key component of the PA Policy requires that when a stock has declined to or below its limit reference point (LRP), a rebuilding plan must be in place with the aim of having a high probability of the stock growing above the LRP within a reasonable timeframe.

In addition, under section 6.2 of the Fish Stocks provisions (FSP) in the amended Fisheries Act (2019), rebuilding plans must be developed and implemented for prescribed major fish stocks that have declined to or below their LRP. This legislated requirement is supported by section 70 of the Fishery (General) Regulations (FGR), which set out the required contents of those rebuilding plans and establishes a timeline for each rebuilding plan’s development.

The purpose of this plan is to identify the main rebuilding objectives for the Atlantic herring spring spawner component in NAFO Division 4T, as well as the management measures that will be used to achieve these objectives. This plan provides a common understanding of the basic “rules” for rebuilding the stock. This stock is prescribed in the Fishery (General) Regulations (section 69) and thus is subject to section 6.2 of the Fisheries Act and regulatory requirements.

The objectives and measures outlined in this plan are applicable until the stock(s) has reached its rebuilding target. Once the stock is determined to be at the target, the stock(s) will be managed through the standard Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) or other fishery management process in order to fulfill the requirements of the FSP. Management measures outlined in this rebuilding plan are mandatory, and may be modified or further measures added if they fail to result in stock rebuilding.

Decisions flowing from the application of this rebuilding plan must respect the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act (1982), including those through modern treaties. Where DFO is responsible for implementing a rebuilding plan in an area subject to a modern treaty, the rebuilding plan will be implemented in a manner consistent with that agreement. The plan should also be guided by the 1990 Sparrow decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, which found that where an Aboriginal group has a right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes, it takes priority, after conservation, over other uses of the resource.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

1.0 Introduction and context

1.1 Population and distribution

Herring species belong mostly to the family Clupeidae and are the most abundant group of forage fish in the world, with species occurring mainly in shallow and temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea, as well as off the west coast of South America.

The Atlantic herring is considered as the most abundant herring species. Distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic, it provides over half of all herring catches in the world. In the western North Atlantic, the species ranges from western Greenland to Labrador and southward along the North American coast to Cape Hatteras (Stevenson and Scott 2005, Scott and Scott 1988). The species is found in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) from the north shore of the Gaspe Peninsula (Québec) to the northern tip of Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) and includes the Magdalen Islands (Simon and Stobo 1983, Claytor 2001, LeBlanc 2016).

1.2 Biology

The herring population in the sGSL consists of two spawning components:

1. spring spawners
2. fall spawners

Herring adult for both components over-winter at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When the ice breaks up in the spring both herring spawning components begin to return to the sGSL. Spring spawners migrate first to spawning areas and peak spawning occurs during April and May, but may extend to June 30 in various areas of the sGSL at depths less than 10 meters. Fall spawning typically occurs from mid-August to mid-October at depths of 5 to 20 m, but can occur as early as July 1 (LeBlanc 2016, McDermid et al. 2018).

The spring and fall spawner components of NAFO Division 4T are considered distinct stocks and are assessed separately. Recent genetic studies have confirmed genetic differentiation among these stocks (Lamichhaney et al. 2017). Herring also show high spawning site fidelity (Wheeler and Winters 1984; McQuinn 1997; Brophy et al. 2006) where they can aggregate in large concentrations. These localized spawning grounds are especially targeted by the gillnet fishery, therefore capturing fish during their spawning activities.

Each population spawns only once a year over a relatively short time period. Females lay their eggs on the seabed where they are fertilized by the males. The eggs stick on:

• stones
• gravel
• sand
• seaweed

They form extensive egg beds that are often many layers deep. In general, spring spawners produce fewer eggs (up to 50% less) than fall spawners for females of comparable size. Fecundity can range from 23,000 to 261,000 eggs per female, but large females can produce up to 360,000 eggs (Messieh 1988). The eggs are 1.0-1.4 mm in diameter. They remain attached to the bottom throughout the incubation period, which could be 14 to 19 days depending on water temperature which range from 3.3°C to 9.7°C for spring-spawned eggs (Messieh 1987).

Atlantic herring from populations on the Canadian eastern shores can grow up to 45 centimeters in length and weigh up to 1.1 kilograms. Growth rates vary greatly from stock to stock. The life expectancy once mature is 12 to 16 years. Some herring will mature by age 3, but most will mature by age 5 (Scott and Scott 1988). In the sGSL, female fork length at 50% maturity (L50) is estimated at 23.5 cm (DFO 2007) and the age at first spawning is typically 4 years of age (Messieh 1988).

The average generation time for NAFO Division 4T spring spawners herring was estimated at 6.23 years over the 1988 to 2021 time series (Burbank et al. 2023). The authors also observed a reduction of the generation time by approximately 1 year over the same time series, which is expected with a fish stock presenting growth decline, while the natural mortality of older fish is increasing over time.

1.3 Habitat requirements

The Atlantic herring is a pelagic species that forms schools, particularly during feeding, spawning and annual migrations. In recent years, the largest spring spawning areas are in relatively shallow waters of the Northumberland Strait and Chaleur Bay, and the largest fall spawning areas are in coastal waters off Miscou and Escuminac N.B., North Cape and Cape Bear P.E.I., and Pictou, N.S (Wheeler and Winters 1984; McQuinn 1997; Brophy et al. 2006; DFO 2018).

Herring may show specific habitat requirements for spawning, as they demonstrate high spawning site fidelity. Well-mixed (unstratified) waters and transition zones (fronts) between well-mixed and stratified waters are preferred habitats for adults, also more abundant in or on edges of plankton aggregations. The egg beds are normally found in coastal waters with strong bottom currents and coarse substrate. Larvae remain on or near bottom for first few days after hatching, until yolk-sac is absorbed, then rise to surface and are dispersed by currents (Stevenson and Scott 2005). Therefore, abundance of the food source and the nature of the seabed substrate may be considered as key determinants for the spatial aggregation (Maravelias 2001).

Text version

The nine herring fishing areas (HFA) within the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence are comprised within NAFO divisions (from west to east): 4T (HFA 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16e, 16F and 16G), and 4Vn (HFA 17 and 18).

Adult herring behavior is affected by temperature changes (Stevenson and Scott 2005). Herring probably have characteristic temperature ranges and tolerances during particular times of its life cycle (Blaxter and Holliday 1963) and can perceive temperature changes which are smaller than 0.1°C (Laevastu 1993). At the distributional extremes of the species, stocks are restricted to a single spawning strategy, with autumn spawning in the south and spring spawning in the north. Changes in environmental conditions in the sGSL, characterized by a general water warming trend, favors autumn spawners (Melvin et al 2009). Broad-scale environmental changes can introduce large interannual variability and limit the reproductive and recovery potential of a stock (Melvin et al 2009).

1.4 Ecosystem interactions

The Atlantic herring is a forage species and one of the most important pelagic species throughout the North Atlantic. Herring, which filter tiny zooplankton such as copepods and euphausids, are consumed by top marine predators. Many species of fish, bird, and marine mammal rely on herring as a source of food. Their eggs are also subject to predation by a variety of bottom dwellers, including:

• winter flounder
• cod
• hake
• sculpins
• skates
• smelt (Scott and Scott 1988, Benoît and Rail 2016)

Herring is therefore considered to form a critical link between the base of the food web (plankton) and other marine organisms.

1.5 The fishery

The 2 Atlantic herring stocks (spring and fall spawner components) in the sGSL are managed over 2 fishing season (spring and fall) and across seven Herring Fishing Areas (HFAs 16A to 16G) within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 4T (Figure 1). The spring season extends from January 1 to June 30 and the fall season from July 1 to December 31.

Prior to 1967, the herring fishery of the sGSL was mainly exploited by the inshore fleet using gillnets (referred to as fixed gear) and average landings from 1935 to 1966 were 34,000 t. In the mid-1960s, a purse seine fishery (referred to as mobile gear) was introduced, and average landings increased to 166,000 t during 1967 to 1972 period. A quota or Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 166,000 t was introduced in 1972 and reduced to 40,000 t in 1973. The purse seine fleet accounted for most of the catch from the time of the TAC introduction until 1981. Beginning in 1981, a change in the management plan altered the relative allocation of the TAC between the inshore (fixed gear) and purse seine (mobile gear) fleets. The purse seine fleet was allocated 20% of the TAC within the sGSL and also, approximately 4,000 t from the over-wintering area off Cape Breton (NAFO Division 4Vn). In 1992, the Cape Breton portion of the allocation was formally recognized as part of the sGSL TAC. The allocation split since 1992 has been 23% to the purse seine fleet and 77% to the inshore fleet (Claytor 2000).

At the time, in 1972, the TAC was set for the spring and fall fishing seasons combined without a distinction for the spring and fall spawner components. In 1985, a separate TAC for the spring spawner and fall spawner components was established. To simplify fishery management, quotas were established on a seasonal (spring and fall fishery), rather than the spawner components basis. For stock assessment purposes, landings are later attributed to spring spawners or fall spawners based on biological samples taken during the fishery and processed in laboratory. The quota by season is an operational consideration since determining spawning group in laboratory cannot keep up with the fast fishing pace. Generally, the purse seine fleet can target one or both spawning groups throughout the year, while the inshore fixed gear fleet harvests primarily spring spawners in the spring and fall spawners in the fall.

The fixed gear fishery is focused in HFAs 16A to 16G within NAFO Division 4T, whereas the mobile gear fishery occurs in 4T and historically, occasionally in 4Vn (Figure 1). During the spring and fall fishing seasons, the mobile fleet are prohibited from fishing in inshore areas, which are set aside exclusively for the fixed gear fleet (Claytor et al. 1998). Starting in 2013, the mobile gear fleets was authorized to fish fall spawners in the spring fishing season by limiting their fishing effort in the northern half of the HFA 16D, along the boundary of NAFO Division 4T, which is referred to as the “edge”. Since a portion of the fall spawners are schooling in this specific region of the sGSL, seiners are allowed to fish a portion of their fall herring quota during the spring fishing season (May-June) along the “edge”. Catches are then accounted under the fall fishery season in the landing statistics. In the fall fishing season (July-December), mobile gear fleets are also authorized to fish 50% of their quota in the Bay des Chaleurs.

In the sGSL, commercial and bait herring fishing licences give access to the spring and fall fisheries. The fixed gear fleet represents the vast majority of the herring fishing effort (Table 1). In 2021, 3,031 fixed gear and 20 mobile gear licences (11 large and 9 small seiners) were renewed. Small seiner licences allow the use of purse seine or gillnet as gear type. The percentage of active harvesters of:

• the fixed gear fleet was 13%
• the large and small seiner fleets was 11% and 9%
• the bait fishery was 7%

The number of active harvesters in each fishing season may vary from year to year, as each licence holder can decide to fish in one or both fishing seasons. Some inactive harvesters may also decide to become active or may transfer their licences to new owners through the Commercial Fisheries Licensing Policy^{Footnote 3}.

Table 1. Number of renewed commercial (fixed and mobile gear) and bait licences and estimate of the number of active harvesters in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence herring fishery in 2021.

Type of fishing licences:

• Fixed gear (inshore)
  • Renewed licences: 3,031
  • Estimate of the number of active harvesters: 381
• Mobile gear (large seiners >19.8 m)
  • Renewed licences: 11
  • Estimate of the number of active harvesters: 1
• Mobile gear (small seiners <19.8 m)
  • Renewed licences: 9
  • Estimate of the number of active harvesters: 1¹
• Bait fishery (personal use only)
  • Renewed licences: 3,061²
  • Estimate of the number of active harvesters: 207³

Detailed operational management information pertaining to the Atlantic herring fishery in the sGSL is summarized in the 2021 conservation and harvesting plan (CHP)^{Footnote 4}. All management measures outlined in the plan will supersede or will be in addition to those in the CHP or in a new IFMP.

Annual landings in the spring and fall fishing seasons have shown a steady decline over the 1999 to 2023 period (Figure 2). The most acute decline was observed during the spring fishing season, when spring spawners are caught. As the biomass of spring spawners was entering the critical zone of the PA, TACs were gradually reduced from 21,000 t in the early 1990’s to 500 t for the 2020 and 2021 spring fishing season. The directed commercial and bait fisheries targeting the spring spawner component of the stock were closed in 2022 due to the lack of stock recovery and its continuing critical state^{Footnote 5}.

Text version

Graphic on the left presents herring landings in metric tons of spring and fall spawners combined during the spring fishing season from 1999 to 2021. The dark green bars present landings from the fixed gear fleet and the light green from the mobile gear fleet. A similar graphic on the right presents herring landings during the fall fishing season. The dark orange bars show landings from the fixed gear fleet and the light orange from the mobile gear fleet. The black lines in both grahics shows the fluctuation of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) over the time period.

Figure 2 table

Year	Spring fishing season			Fall fishing season
	Fixed gear fleet	Mobile gear fleet	Spring TAC	Fixed gear fleet	Mobile gear fleet	Fall TAC
1999	11,881	4,818	18,500	44,791	9,104	60,500
2000	16,182	548	16,500	50,382	8,697	71,000
2001	10,597	1,097	12,500	45,522	10,271	60,500
2002	9,108	884	8,000	41,963	11,602	51,500
2003	9,066	101	11,000	47,803	13,228	62,000
2004	8,045	52	13,500	36,026	7,500	73,000
2005	4,496	-	11,000	51,729	8,840	70,000
2006	2,666	-	9,000	47,923	5,154	68,800
2007	2,230	-	5,000	43,171	6,840	68,800
2008	1,690	-	2,500	38,866	4,211	68,800
2009	1,350	-	2,500	44,850	2,458	65,000
2010	1,155	302	2,000	42,460	4,749	65,000
2011	1,043	-	2,000	36,903	2,036	65,000
2012	417	228	2,000	31,888	643	43,500
2013	898	-	2,000	29,912	5,263	43,500
2014	705	-	2,000	25,918	3,842	35,000
2015	586	-	2,000	25,967	2,775	35,000
2016	827	-	2,000	23,240	1,576	35,000
2017	946	-	2,000	20,596	170	35,000
2018	477	-	500	15,285	1,778	25,000
2019	541	-	1,250	14,888	1,162	22,500
2020	419	-	500	9,675	574	12,000
2021	403	-	500	10,818	16	12,000
2022	-	-	-	9,548	22	10,000
2023	6	-	-	5,566	-	10,000

Although spring spawners are mainly caught during the spring fishing season when it is open, some are also caught during the fall season. The same is observed with some fall spawners being caught during the spring season (Figure 3). From 2013 to 2023, the average percentage of spring spawner landed annually during the fall fishing season was 1.9% (ranging from 0.9% to 3.5%). For the spring fishing season, since the commercial spring season was closed in 2022 and 2023, the time period is from 2013 to 2021. The average proportion of fall spawners landed annually during the spring fishing season was 6.9% (ranging from 1.2% to 18.3%).

Text version

Over the 2013 to 2023 period, fall herring spawners caught during the spring fishing season represented less than 11% of the total herring landings for the season, with the exception of 2020 with 18.1% of fall spawners caught during the spring season. No fall spawners were reported as the commercial spring fishing season was closed in 2022 and 2023. Over the same period (2013 to 2023), 3.5% or less spring spawners were caught during the fall fishing season.

Figure 3 table

Years	Spring season landings (metric tons)			Fall season landings (metric tons)
	Spring spawners-fixed	Fall spawner-fixed	% fall spawners in the landings	Fall spawner-fixed	Fall spawners-mobile	Spring spawners-fixed	Spring spawners-mobile	% spring spawners in the landings
2013	874	24	2.7%	29,911	4,434	1	829	2.4%
2014	634	71	10.1%	25,786	3,357	132	485	2.1%
2015	578	7	1.2%	25,964	2,167	3	608	2.1%
2016	745	82	9.9%	23,195	1,400	45	176	0.9%
2017	928	18	1.9%	20,381	124	215	46	1.3%
2018	438	39	8.2%	15,186	1,517	99	261	2.1%
2019	484	56	10.4%	14,844	644	44	517	3.5%
2020	343	76	18.1%	9,659	360	18	286	2.9%
2021	379	25	6.2%	10,800	-	17	-	0.2%
2022	-	-	-	9,310	15	236	7	2.5%
2023	6	-	0.0%	5,520	-	82	-	1.5%

1.6 Overview of the fishery socio-economic and cultural importance

The Atlantic herring fishery is the largest of the fisheries for small pelagic species in eastern Canada. Products from the fishery include:

• fresh
• frozen
• smoked
• canned (including sardines)
• pickled
• roe and bait (fresh, frozen, and salted)
• by-products including fishmeal and fish-oil

For 2021, the total spring and fall fishery landed value in NAFO Division 4T is estimated at less than $8.3 million. The landed value for the spring fishing season is much lower than the fall fishing season and represents approximately 4% of the value.

Herring landed during the spring fishing season from NAFO Division 4T are presented in Table 2. In 2021, 123 active commercial herring licence holders reported landings of 323t in NAFO Division 4T with an associated value of $283,127.

Table 2. Atlantic herring spring fishing season landings (metric tons), value and fishing effort in NAFO Division 4T, 2010-2021

• 2012
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 616
  • Value ($)²: 367,338
  • Price ($/kg): 0.60
  • Active harvesters³: 147
• 2013
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 1,049
  • Value ($)²: 894,557
  • Price ($/kg): 0.86
  • Active harvesters³: 157
• 2014
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 672
  • Value ($)²: 491,013
  • Price ($/kg): 0.73
  • Active harvesters³: 122
• 2015
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 569
  • Value ($)²: 447,885
  • Price ($/kg): 0.79
  • Active harvesters³: 101
• 2016
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 784
  • Value ($)²: 535,601
  • Price ($/kg): 0.68
  • Active harvesters³: 124
• 2017
  • TAC (t): 2,000
  • Quantity landed (t): 938
  • Value ($)²: 765,290
  • Price ($/kg): 0.82
  • Active harvesters³: 130
• 2018
  • TAC (t): 500
  • Quantity landed (t): 460
  • Value ($)²: 405,054
  • Price ($/kg): 0.88
  • Active harvesters³: 135
• 2019
  • TAC (t): 1,250
  • Quantity landed (t): 561
  • Value ($)²: 750,685
  • Price ($/kg): 1.34
  • Active harvesters³: 124
• 2020¹
  • TAC (t): 500
  • Quantity landed (t) : 309
  • Value ($)² : 389,337
  • Price ($/kg) : 1.26
  • Active harvesters³ : 83
• 2021¹
  • TAC (t) : 500
  • Quantity landed (t): 323
  • Value ($)²: 283,127
  • Price ($/kg): 0.88
  • Active harvesters³: 123
• 2022
  • Directed commercial and bait fisheries targeting the spring spawner component were closed.

Between 2012 and 2021, the landed value of the 4T herring spring season harvest has been distributed between the provinces of:

• New Brunswick (37%)
• Quebec (36%)
• Prince Edward Island (27%)
• Nova Scotia (1%)

Prior to the 2022 closure of the 4T herring spring fishery for the fixed gear fleet, the dependency on this fishery for harvesters of this fleet was considered low, since 93% of enterprises were dependent on 4T spring herring for less than 25% of their fishing income in 2020 (Table 3).

Table 3. Dependency (% of total fishing income) on spring fishing season herring for 2020

Number of active inshore harvesters:

• Less than 5%: 108
• 5% - 25%: 6
• 26% - 50%: 2
• 51% -100%: 7

The herring commercial spring fishery was normally considered a complementary fishery to the much more lucrative commercial lobster and snow crab fisheries (Table 4).

Table 4. Value of other species caught by active herring spring season harvesters in 2021p ($ millions).

• Lobster: 47.5
• Snow crab: 30.4
• Shrimp: 2.0
• Fall season herring: 0.8
• Other species: 3.2
• Total: 83.9

The total value of the herring spring season in 2021 was 0.28 million $. Source: DFO, Gulf and Quebec Regions

Bait licences are issued to harvesters to catch both herring and mackerel for personal use only. In the Gulf and Quebec Regions, approximately 2,500 herring/mackerel bait licences are issued annually for fisheries using:

• traps or hooks/longlines, such as:
  • lobster,
  • crab,
  • groundfish and
  • tuna fisheries.

However, in 2021, only 169 participants were active in the spring herring/mackerel bait fishery.

Up until and including the year 2019, only a bait monitoring document was requested (Gulf Region) or an electronic logbook (e-log, Québec Region) from participants in the herring/mackerel bait fishery and compliance was low, which resulted in limited information on landings for this fishery. Starting in 2020, a hail-in of the catch estimate is a mandatory requirement before entering the port for fish harvesters from the Gulf and Québec Regions. The hail-ins, the returned bait monitoring documents (Gulf Region) and e-logs (Québec Region) are used to estimate the bait fishery landings. Mandatory logbooks (paper format) were also introduced in 2022 and voluntary e-logs in 2024 for the fall season of the herring commercial and bait fisheries of the Gulf Region.

As a consequence of the above reporting requirements, the total bait landings for 2021 spring season are estimated at 95t for Gulf and Québec Regions. Since catches in the bait fishery cannot be sold (personal use only), there is no purchase transactions or formal mechanism to estimate the catch value. Although, a precise price has not yet been determined, an estimate of $2.20/kg based on discussion with industry members would correspond to a value of over $200,000, if harvesters were to buy their herring from a bait supplier.

There is currently no authorized recreational fishery with access to herring in NAFO Division 4T.

Herring is also fished as part of the Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fishery. A total of 12 First Nations and Indigenous organizations can fish in the spring and fall seasons for FSC purposes in the Gulf and Québec Regions. FSC fisheries are managed under the Aboriginal Community Fishing Licence Regulations and Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) agreements. The species caught under FSC are not allowed to be sold. There are no reported catches or estimates available for removals of herring in this FSC fishery, however the quantity is likely minimal (from qualitative observations obtained from Conservation and Protection fishery officers).

1.7 Involvement of stakeholder and Indigenous groups in the development of the plan

Consultations were held between February 13 and March 16, 2020, and conducted with different:

• harvester’s associations
• processors
• First Nations and Indigenous groups

They were held in the provinces of:

• New Brunswick
• Prince Edward Island
• Nova Scotia
• Québec

A working book was developed to facilitate discussions but above all, to facilitate the gathering of written comments. Participants were also invited to propose adjustments or alternatives to the management measures presented.

2.0 Stock status and stock trends

In 2003, the Privy Council Office, on behalf of the Government of Canada, published a framework applicable to all federal government departments that set out guiding principles for the application of precaution to decision making about risks of serious or irreversible harm where there is a lack of full scientific certainty.

A Fisheries Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach was developed (DFO 2009) and applies where decisions on harvest strategies or harvest rates for a stock must be taken to determine TAC or other measures to control harvests. The framework applies to key harvested stocks managed by DFO: those stocks that are the specific and intended targets of a fishery, whether in a commercial, recreational or subsistence fishery. In applying the framework, all removals of these stocks from all types of fishing must be taken into account.

The following are the primary components of the general decision framework:

• reference points and stock status zones (healthy, cautious and critical)
• harvest strategy and harvest decision rules
• the need to take into account uncertainty and risk when developing reference points and developing and implementing decision rules

Reference points (Table 5) as defined by the precautionary approach framework (DFO 2009) were first estimated for the herring spring spawner component in 2005 (Chouinard et al. 2005; DFO 2005) and later updated or modified in:

• 2016 (DFO 2016; Swain 2016)
• 2020 (DFO 2020)
• 2022 (DFO 2022; Rolland et al. 2022)
• 2024 (DFO 2024a)

Text version

Estimated spawning stock biomass (SSB) increased from low levels in the early 80s to highest levels in the mid-80s to mid-90s. SSB declined in the mid-90s to reach the critical zone of the precautionary approach in 2001. SSB increased slightly until 2010, still in the critical zone , but then declined again afterwards.

Figure 4 table

Year	SSB in t	Low range of confidence interval	High range of confidence interval
1978	82	63	121
1979	63	48	94
1980	42	28	69
1981	36	21	68
1982	41	24	76
1983	70	42	126
1984	108	67	192
1985	140	92	233
1986	176	121	280
1987	146	104	225
1988	127	91	191
1989	104	75	155
1990	101	73	151
1991	108	77	161
1992	166	119	255
1993	162	117	247
1994	141	101	216
1995	186	137	287
1996	136	100	209
1997	112	83	174
1998	92	70	140
1999	72	56	106
2000	61	48	89
2001	52	41	77
2002	38	30	57
2003	33	26	52
2004	23	18	38
2005	26	18	47
2006	25	17	46
2007	30	21	53
2008	35	23	62
2009	37	25	65
2010	43	29	73
2011	41	28	68
2012	38	26	63
2013	36	26	60
2014	36	25	59
2015	30	21	49
2016	29	20	49
2017	41	29	68
2018	45	31	73
2019	38	26	62
2020	35	24	58
2021	35	24	59
2022	33	22	57
2023	28	18	50

Table 5. Summary of the precautionary approach framework reference points for NAFO Division 4T Atlantic herring, spring spawner component.

PA reference point (Source: DFO 2024a)

• Limit Reference Point (LRP)
  • Stock-specific value of the reference point: 51,938 t
• Upper Stock Reference (USR):
  • Stock-specific value of the reference point: 103,877 t
• Target Reference Point (TRP):
  • Stock-specific value of the reference point: 129,846 t
• Removal Reference (RR):
  • Stock-specific value of the reference point: F0.1 = 0.21

The last full assessment of the spring spawning Atlantic herring stock in the sGSL, NAFO Division 4T, was completed in 2024 (DFO 2024c, Maynard et al. 2024).

The SSB estimates based on the 2022 modified assessment model (Rolland et al. 2023) are presented in Figure 4 from 1978 to 2023 (DFO 2024c). Estimated SSB increased from low levels in the early 1980s to highest levels in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Using the redefined biomass reference points (DFO 2024a), the SSB declined in the mid-1990s to reach the critical zone in 2001. SSB increased slightly until 2010, but then declined again and fluctuated around a mean value of 39,550 t until 2021. Estimated SSB in 2022 and 2023 were 33,214 t and 28,245 t respectively. The estimate for 2023 is 54% of the LRP (51,938 t).

Estimated recruitment (number of age 2 fish) and abundances of recruits to the fishery (age 4 fish entering the fishery) were the highest in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, but have declined since to low values (Rolland et al. 2022).

The decrease in SSB started in 1994 and reached a minimum value in 2004. At the same time, fishing mortality increased from 0.20 in 1997 to 0.59 in 2004. Fishing effort was reduced after 2004 and fishing mortality sharply declined until 2012 and has since continued to decline at the lower rate. Recruitment increased slightly between 2002 and 2008, resulting in a slow increase in SSB. However, natural mortality increased rapidly since 2010 (Figure 5), and recruitment decreased again after 2008, driving another decrease in SSB. Recruitment was slightly variable at low levels since 2017, and natural mortality was the highest, keeping SSB low (Maynard et al. 2024). Moreover, the decline in weight-at-age over the time-series also contributed to the decline in SSB (Rolland et al. 2022).

Since the closure of the 4T spring Herring fishery in 2022, there were no commercial landings during the spring season and therefore no data is available to calculate the catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for 2022 and 2023. A small-scale scientific commercial net program was set up in spring 2022 and is being explored as an alternative to address this lack of data. The catches from this program and the experimental nets were sampled by DFO port samplers to continue to inform the catch-at-age index.

2.1 Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)

This stock has not been assessed by COSEWIC and is therefore not currently under consideration for listing under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

2.2 Indigenous knowledge

DFO aims to incorporate Indigenous traditional knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge considerations in science processes and including indigenous partners as participants to peer review meetings, and into fisheries management planning as members of the Gulf Small Pelagics Advisory Committee (GSPAC). Indigenous knowledge can also be gathered through consultations with First Nations and other Indigenous organizations.

3.0 Probable causes for the stock’s decline

Overfishing of the herring stocks in the sGSL has occurred in the past and contributed to the overall decline of the spring spawner stock (Fisheries Resource Conservation Council 2009). The decrease in SSB started in 1994 and reached a minimum value in 2004. At the same time, fishing mortality increased from 0.20 in 1997 to 0.59 in 2004 (Rolland et al. 2022). Fishing effort was reduced after 2004 and fishing mortality sharply declined until 2012 and has since continued to decline. Despite the continuous reduction in fishing mortality since 2004, the stock has not recovered.

Text version

Natural mortality estimates for the younger age group (ages 2-6) have fluctuated between 0.23 and 0.51 (between 21% and 40% of annual mortality) from 1978-2023 and was at an average of 0.37 in 2022 and 2023. For the older age group (ages 7-11+), natural mortality gradually increased from 0.30 to 0.52 (between 25% and 41% of annual mortality) between 1978 and 2006, before decreasing to 0.4 (37% annual mortality) in 2009. Starting in 2010, estimates sharply increased to reach a maximum of 0.86 (57% annual mortality) in 2018 before decreasing to a mean value of 0.62 (46% annual mortality) in 2022 and 2023.

Figure 5 table

Year	Instantaneous natural mortality rate, ages 2 to 6	Low range of confidence interval, age 2-6	High range of confidence interval, age 2 to 6	Instantaneous natural mortality rate, ages 7 to 11+	Low range of confidence interval, age 7 to 11+	High range of confidence interval, age 7 to 11+
1978	0.36	0.24	0.49	0.29	0.20	0.40
1979	0.36	0.24	0.50	0.30	0.20	0.41
1980	0.35	0.23	0.49	0.31	0.21	0.43
1981	0.33	0.22	0.46	0.33	0.23	0.46
1982	0.31	0.20	0.42	0.35	0.24	0.49
1983	0.28	0.19	0.39	0.37	0.25	0.51
1984	0.27	0.18	0.37	0.39	0.27	0.54
1985	0.25	0.17	0.34	0.41	0.28	0.55
1986	0.24	0.17	0.33	0.42	0.29	0.57
1987	0.23	0.17	0.32	0.44	0.30	0.60
1988	0.23	0.16	0.31	0.44	0.31	0.59
1989	0.23	0.17	0.32	0.43	0.31	0.56
1990	0.24	0.17	0.33	0.40	0.30	0.51
1991	0.25	0.18	0.34	0.39	0.29	0.49
1992	0.26	0.18	0.34	0.39	0.30	0.49
1993	0.25	0.18	0.34	0.42	0.31	0.52
1994	0.26	0.19	0.34	0.45	0.33	0.56
1995	0.26	0.19	0.35	0.49	0.35	0.63
1996	0.27	0.20	0.36	0.50	0.36	0.66
1997	0.30	0.22	0.40	0.49	0.35	0.64
1998	0.34	0.24	0.46	0.47	0.33	0.61
1999	0.38	0.28	0.52	0.44	0.31	0.58
2000	0.41	0.30	0.55	0.44	0.31	0.60
2001	0.42	0.32	0.56	0.46	0.32	0.62
2002	0.44	0.32	0.57	0.48	0.33	0.66
2003	0.45	0.35	0.58	0.48	0.34	0.68
2004	0.46	0.36	0.57	0.51	0.35	0.73
2005	0.46	0.37	0.58	0.51	0.35	0.74
2006	0.47	0.38	0.58	0.52	0.35	0.73
2007	0.48	0.38	0.59	0.51	0.35	0.70
2008	0.49	0.39	0.60	0.48	0.35	0.65
2009	0.51	0.41	0.63	0.45	0.34	0.58
2010	0.49	0.39	0.60	0.46	0.37	0.57
2011	0.44	0.36	0.54	0.51	0.41	0.62
2012	0.41	0.32	0.49	0.55	0.46	0.66
2013	0.38	0.30	0.46	0.61	0.51	0.72
2014	0.35	0.28	0.43	0.69	0.58	0.81
2015	0.33	0.27	0.41	0.79	0.67	0.94
2016	0.32	0.26	0.40	0.86	0.73	1.02
2017	0.32	0.26	0.39	0.86	0.73	1.01
2018	0.33	0.26	0.40	0.83	0.70	0.98
2019	0.34	0.27	0.43	0.73	0.62	0.86
2020	0.36	0.27	0.46	0.65	0.54	0.77
2021	0.37	0.28	0.49	0.60	0.49	0.74
2022	0.37	0.27	0.50	0.62	0.48	0.78
2023	0.37	0.26	0.51	0.62	0.47	0.81

The main source of serious harm to stock productivity and the cause of stock decline were likely environmentally-driven recruitment failure since 1992 associated with a regime shift from cold water/high recruitment to warmer water/low recruitment. Other sources of serious harm include reduced growth, increased predation-driven natural mortality, high fishing mortality during and after the stock decline, reduced fecundity, and a state of low production and low biomass (DFO 2024a).

Pelagic fish such as herring often exhibit sporadic recruitment peaks, making long term projections highly uncertain. However, recruitment is currently low in both spring and fall spawners. Spring spawning herring recruitment level has been demonstrated to be driven by environmental effects, while recruitment variations are not driven strongly by spawning biomass (Brosset et al. 2018; Turcotte 2022). Similar findings were reported for other herring stocks (Szuwalski et al. 2019).

Since 1992, the Gulf of St. Lawrence has experienced a trend towards:

• warmer waters
• shorter duration of ice season
• lower ice volume (Galbraith et al. 2021)

Both the sea surface temperature of the sGSL and the spring spawning herring recruitment abruptly shifted from a cold water/high recruitment regime (1978-1991) to a warmer water/low recruitment (1992-2017) regime in the early 1990s (Turcotte 2022). These environmental changes, often linked to climate changes, may have triggered seasonal fluctuations in production of phytoplankton and zooplankton, primarily a change in the main herring food source with a decrease in abundance of cold-water copepod species and an increase of warm water copepod species abundance (Blais et al. 2021). The spring spawning herring stock is less likely to rebuild in the current regime of warmer water than it was in the former regime. This is consistent with a model suggesting that cold environmental conditions favor spring spawners, whereas warm conditions favor fall spawners in Western Atlantic herring stocks (Melvin et al. 2009).

For both spring and fall herring spawner stocks, the increase in natural mortality for the age group 7-11+ correlated with the increases in the abundance indices of grey seal, Atlantic bluefin tuna and northern gannets, the most important herring consumers in the sGSL (Benoit and Rail 2016; Turcotte et al. 2021). Although predation is considered the main constituent of the natural mortality, further analysis of predator abundance, spatial distribution, size distribution, diet, and functional response of predators to prey will be necessary to quantify the effects of the different predators on spring and fall spawning herring natural mortality.

The weight-at-age of herring has also declined by 39.6% between 1978 and 2021 and remains at near record low levels. Normally in fish populations, a shift in age structure toward younger less productive spawners can negatively affect productivity. The causes of these declines in weight-at-age and the consequences to recruitment rate are unknown (Rolland et al. 2022).

The cumulative impacts of multiple factors are responsible for keeping the stock in the critical zone since 2001 (Maynard et al. 2024). It is suggested that low recruitment is the main process keeping this stock in the critical zone (Turcotte 2022). Under the current warmer water/low recruitment regime, reduced weight-at-age and high natural mortality conditions, this stock is not expected to recover in the short term. Six years projections in SSB show no significant changes from 2022 to 2027, even without fishing (catch level = 0 t) (Rolland et al. 2022, DFO 2022).

Spring spawner long term population projections models, using different scenarios of recruitment and environment relationship, were tested from year 2020 to 2069 (Turcotte 2022). The best performing models showed little changes in SSB over time, as the stock stayed in the critical zone of the PA. Although these models are characterized by wide uncertainties, the long term prognosis suggests that, under current environmental conditions (i.e.: warmer water/low recruitment regime), the herring spring spawner stock is unlikely to rebuild.

Under the Fisheries Act, fish habitat is defined to include all waters frequented by fish and any other areas upon which fish depend directly or indirectly to carry out their life processes. The types of areas that can directly or indirectly support life processes include, but are not limited to:

• spawning grounds and nursery
• rearing
• food supply
• migration areas

Given the current understanding and best available scientific evidence, loss or degradation of the sGSL spring spawner herring seabed substrate requirements, mainly at spawning grounds, is unlikely to have contributed to the stock’s decline. The main drivers of the stock’s decline are now, low recruitment, decreasing weight-at-age and increasing natural mortality. These drivers are associated to the herring water column component of the habitat, as they are directly or indirectly linked to multiple factors, including:

• warming waters
• food source changes
• increasing predation

Some of these factors may be linked to climate changes. These environmental and biological factors are closely monitored but are considered outside DFO’s control in terms of fisheries management measures.

4.0 Measurable objectives aimed at rebuilding the stock

4.1 Rebuilding target and timeline

As outlined in the PA framework (DFO 2009), the primary objective of this rebuilding plan is to promote stock growth out of the critical zone (grow the stock beyond the LRP), by ensuring removals from all fishing sources are kept to the lowest possible level until the stock has cleared this zone. Within the critical zone, this objective remains the same whether the stock is declining, stable or increasing. Based on the PA framework, the overarching objective for the Atlantic herring spring spawner component is to grow out of the critical zone. The rebuilding target for the plan will be to grow the stock above the LRP (51,938 t of SSB) with a high likelihood (≥75%). In addition to the high likelihood of growth, the target must include the following elements (DFO 2024a):

• The stock must be at or above the 75% probability of being at or above the LRP for 2 consecutive years (rebuilt state).
• The population projections must show the stock is likely to continue its positive trajectory under a directed fishery for 2 years after the rebuilt state has been achieved.

If the rebuilding target can be reached, the long-term management objective under an IFMP will be to continue the stock’s growth toward the healthy zone and then maintain the stock’s SSB in that zone. This long-term objective would be to the benefit of all Canadians, including harvesters, those sectors closely involved with the fishing industry and coastal communities that derive economic benefits from this resource.

Even with no fishing, the short term and long-term prospects (SSB projections until 2027 and 2069 respectively) for rebuilding the Atlantic herring spring spawner component appears unlikely given current environmental conditions of poor recruitment and high natural mortality (Rolland et al. 2022, Turcotte 2022). Current warmer water temperature/low recruitment regime, reduced weight-at-age and high natural mortality are limiting the likelihood of stock growth. Long term population projections models (2020 to 2069) under different scenarios of recruitment and environment relationship suggest that the spring spawner stock is unlikely to rebuild under prevailing conditions.

A timeline to rebuild could not be calculated since even in the absence of fishing mortality, the stock is unlikely to rebuild under prevailing stock productivity and ecosystem conditions. The timeline is therefore set to the 6 year generation time for the spring spawner component (Burbank et al. 2023, DFO 2024a), starting in 2024.

During each review of the rebuilding plan (see section 8.0: Periodic review of the rebuilding plan), the factors limiting the stock’s potential for growth will be re-assessed to determine if they are still influencing the stock and if new scientific information can support the need to review the rebuilding target and/or timeline. In the meantime, and consistent with the PA framework, this rebuilding plan still aims at minimizing, to the extent possible, further declines of the stock. This is to preserve the stock such that, should the prevailing conditions limiting the stock’s recovery change, the stock retains the potential to rebuild.

4.2 Additional measurable objectives and timelines

Under the PA framework, while the stock is in the critical zone, management actions must promote stock growth, removals from all fishing sources must be kept to the lowest possible and there should be no tolerance for preventable decline.

Furthermore, this stock was prescribed under section 6.2 of the FSP in April 2022, adding to the urgency to take action. For these reasons, the directed commercial and bait fisheries targeting the spring spawner component of the stock were closed in 2022, prior to the implementation of the present rebuilding plan.

Table 6 provides an overview of the secondary rebuilding objectives for the Atlantic herring spring spawner component. These objectives aim at enabling DFO to monitor; all sources of mortality, the impacts of implemented management measures and whether there is improvement in the stock status and the overall state of the ecosystem.

Table 6. Additional measurable objectives and timelines aimed at rebuilding the NAFO Division 4T Atlantic herring, spring spawner component.

Secondary objectives:

• Keep removals from all sources to the lowest possible level by continuing to implement and/or develop new management measures on all fisheries that direct for, or intercept, spring spawner herring.
  • Timeline: Ongoing and reviewed periodically with the review of the rebuilding plan.
• Monitor sources of fishing mortality and enforce compliance of management measures.
  • Timeline: Starting in 2024 and reviewed periodically with the review of the rebuilding plan.
• Advance current scientific knowledge in the fields of monitoring stock status, recruitment, environmental conditions, and those ecosystem factors that are likely to impact the stock’s recruitment, growth, habitat and health.
  • Timeline: Continue and review the status of the stock every 2 years, concurrently with the periodic review of the rebuilding plan every 4 years.

5.0 Management measures aimed at achieving the objectives

Multiple management measures are required to achieve the objectives identified in Table 7. These measures and expected outcomes are presented in Table 7. They are informed by the numerous DFO Sustainable Fisheries Framework (SFF) policies such as the Precautionary Approach (DFO 2009), bycatch (DFO 2013) and catch monitoring (DFO 2019a) policies. Since the Atlantic herring, spring spawner component is unlikely to rebuild under prevailing conditions (see section 3.0: Probable causes for the stock’s decline), the objectives are aimed at preserving the stock such that should the prevailing conditions limiting the stock’s recovery change, the stock retains the potential to rebuild.

6.0 Socio-economic analysis

While a summary analysis of the overall financial herring spring directed fishery contribution and harvesters involved was presented in section 1.6 of this document, this section provides the analysis to assess the impacts of the fishery closure and other measures on the different markets and usages of spring herring. Since the spring fishing season closure occurred in 2022, prior to this rebuilding plan, there will be no incremental impacts on commercial or bait harvesters.

The general overview of the economic contribution of the spring herring fishery and number of harvesters involved in the sGSL, acknowledge that the implementation of any new measures beyond those outlined here to further curtail and monitor the capture of herring spring spawners will impact multiple sectors of the fishing industry differently.

The herring bait fishery is more challenging to analyze due to the lack of dependable catch and effort data. The closure of the 2022 bait spring season fishery may however create an increase in effort on fall spawners in the bait fall fishing season, which will be closely monitored. As discussed in section 1.6, herring bait is known to be in high demand for the lobster, snow crab, rock crab and tuna fisheries.

7.0 Method to track progress towards achieving the objectives

Performance metrics provide DFO with a means to assess the progress of the rebuilding plan towards the rebuilding plan’s objectives. For each objective, Table 8 outlines how and when progress will be measured.

Table 8. Summary of the performance metrics and frequency of measurement associated with each objective in this rebuilding plan.

• Objective: Keep removals from all sources to the lowest possible level by continuing to implement and/or develop new management measures on all fisheries that direct for, or intercept, spring spawner herring.
  • Metric to measure progress: Total bycatch of spring spawners by the mobile gear fleet does not exceed 25t. Total catch for science sampling and stock assessment activities does not exceed 25t.
  • Frequency of measurement: Annually
• Objective: Monitor sources of fishing mortality and enforce compliance of management measures.
  • Metric to measure progress: Qualitative assessment of the efficiency and efficacy of catch monitoring programs with the different fleets (fixed and mobile gear) and harvesters (commercial, bait and FSC) during the fall fishing season.
  • Frequency of measurement: Annually as part of a review of all management activities and fisheries conducted in the sGSL (NAFO Divisions 4T) (Gulf Region – Annual post season review)
• Objective: Advance current scientific knowledge in the fields of monitoring stock status, recruitment, environmental conditions, and those ecosystem factors that are likely to impact the stock’s recruitment, growth, habitat and health.
  • Metric to measure progress: Conduct annual scientific surveys. New findings from science work published in Canadian Scientific Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) research documents. Some results may also be published in specialized scientific journals.
  • Frequency of measurement: Stock assessments conducted and published on a 2-years cycle. New research findings published as they become available.

8.0 Periodic review of the rebuilding plan

The department will engage stakeholders on any matter related to the implementation and review of the rebuilding plan through the established GSPAC process. The frequency of review should be set to every 4 years, which corresponds to 2 stock assessment cycles. The purpose of each review is to determine whether progress towards the plan’s objectives, including the rebuilding target, are being made and whether revisions to the rebuilding plan are necessary in order to achieve those objectives. Any significant new information within the review cycle could trigger an earlier review of the plan. The review of the plan will be based on the data gathered using the metrics identified in the method to track progress towards achieving the objectives section of this plan. It will assess the progress of the implementation of management measures and evidence of their effectiveness, as well as the status of the stock and recent trends. In addition, the review will include opportunities for consultation with Indigenous organizations and stakeholders on their views of the stock’s progress towards rebuilding.

The review process will generate a report that evaluates progress towards each management objective against their timelines with accompanying evidence and may propose adjustments to the rebuilding plan if necessary to achieve the objectives.

Stock rebuilding is not always a slow and steady, or even predictable process. Stocks may fluctuate and persist at low levels for years until conditions promote surplus production, resulting in rapid growth of the population. Thus, lack of progress towards rebuilding may not be an indication that the rebuilding plan’s objectives or management measures are insufficient or ineffective.

9.0 References

• Benoît, H.P., and Rail, J.-F. 2016. Principal predators and consumption of juvenile and adult Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2016/065. viii + 42 p.
• Blais, M., Galbraith, P.S., Plourde, S., Devine, L. and Lehoux, C. 2021. Chemical and Biological Oceanographic Conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2019. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2021/002. iv + 66 p.
• Blaxter, J.H.S. and F.G.T. Holliday. 1963. The behavior and physiology of herring and other clupeids. Adv. Mar. Biol. 1: 261-393.
• Brophy, D., Danilowicz, B.S. and KingCan, P.A. 2006. Spawning season fidelity in sympatric populations of Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.63: 607–616.
• Brosset, P., Doniol-Valcroze, T., Swain, D.P., Lehoux, C., Van Beveren, E., Mbaye, B.C., Emond, K., and Plourde, S. 2018. Environmental variability controls recruitment but with different drivers among spawning components in Gulf of St. Lawrence Herring stocks. Fish. Oceanogr. (January).
• Burbank, J., McDermid, J.L.,Turcotte, F., Rolland, N. 2023. Temporal variation in Von Bertalanffy growth curves and generation time of Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence spring and fall spawning Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus). Fishes, 8, 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8040205
• Chouinard, G.A., Poirier, G.A. and LeBlanc C. 2005. Spawning stock biomass reference points for spring and fall spawning Herring in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2005/082. 18p.
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Annex 1. Management measures until the next review of the rebuilding plan at the end of the 4-year period.

The closure of the herring commercial and bait spring season fishery in 2022 was implemented prior to the present rebuilding plan. Although the rebuilding plan aimed at addressing the situation of the herring spring spawner component, some measures were implemented in the fall herring fishing season, mainly to reduce by-catch and to monitor spring spawners. Some of these management measures could be modified from year to year.

Objective 1: Keep removals from all sources to the lowest possible level by continuing to implement and/or develop new management measures on all fisheries that direct for, or intercept, spring spawner Herring.

2024 - 2027:

• Maintain full closure of the directed commercial and bait fisheries targeting the spring spawner component of the stock during the spring fishing season.
• Mobile gear fleet: Maintain spring spawner bycatch limits for the mobile fleet while targeting fall spawners by closing the fishing season when either one of the two triggers occurs:
  • a total amount of 25 t of spring spawners bycatch has been caught, or
  • exceeding 10% of spring spawner bycatch for 2 consecutive trips.
• Science activities: Allow an annual maximum of 25 t of spring spawners for science stock assessment sampling activities¹.
• FSC fishery: The FSC fishery represents non-significant catches (no quantitative data, only qualitative), so no additional measures are being implemented at this time.

Objective 2: Monitor sources of fishing mortality and level of compliance with management measures by fleet and fishing area.

2024 - 2027:

• Fixed gear fleet:
  • 16A - Île Verte: 100% CMP, DMP targeted rate of 100%, and mandatory e-log.
  • 16B - Chaleurs Bay: New-Brunswick, 100% DMP and mandatory logbook (paper format) or e-log. Quebec, 100% CMP, DMP targeted rate of 100%, mandatory E-log.
  • 16C and E - Escuminac, western Prince-Edward-Island and northern Nova Scotia: 100% DMP and mandatory logbook (paper format) or e-log.
  • 16D - Magdalen Islands: 100% CMP, DMP targeted rate of 100%, mandatory e-log.
  • 16F and G - Pictou: 100% DMP and mandatory logbook (paper format) or e-log.
• Mobile gear fleet:
  • Mobile gear fleet will continue to be subject to a small fish protocol.
  • All large seiners (vessel greater than 19.81 meters) must be equipped with an operational Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) during fishing activities.
  • All large seiners (vessel greater than 19.81 meters) are subject to 100% at-sea observer coverage during fishing activities.
  • Catches of fall spawners during the spring fishing season (May-June) along the “edge” are accounted towards the large purse seiner fall quota.
• Catch composition: Commercial fishery catches are sampled by DFO scientific personnel at dockside for the fixed gear and mobile gear fisheries. Sampling protocol is designed to obtain samples that are spatially and temporally representative of landings. The samples are used to identify the herring spawning component (spring or fall spawners).