Sustainability survey results comparison

Tables comparing some of the major results from the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 surveys.

Precautionary approach and fish stocks

Section 1 of the framework on fisheries decision making looks at the implementation of the precautionary approach policy and its impact on fish stocks.

Reference points and harvest control rules

The following table shows the status of the precautionary approach reference points and harvest control rules for the stocks tracked by the survey. The 2019 survey results show an increase in the number of stocks surveyed that have reference points and harvest control rules. This reflects our commitment to developing these reference points through the annual work plan.

	Total number of stocks in survey	Number of limit reference points	Number of upper stock reference points	Number of removal reference points	Number of harvest control rules
2015 survey results	159	87	75	72	90
2016 survey results	170	103	81	79	102
2017 survey results	179	105	80	90	117
2018 survey results	177	104	79	98	106
2019 survey results	176	106	80	106	106
Difference between 2015 and 2019 survey results	Increased by 17	Increased by 19	Increased by 5	Increased by 34	Increased by 16

Fish stock status

The following table shows the status of the fish stocks in the survey.

The 2019 survey results show some changes in the number of stocks in the different status categories. The number of stocks with uncertain status showed as an increase as a result of:

lack of limit reference points
insufficient data on some stocks
fluctuations in population level make assigning a stock status difficult
transboundary stocks where data isn’t shared between Canada and the U.S.

	Total number of stocks in survey	Number of stocks in the healthy zone	Number of stocks in the cautious zone	Number of stocks in the critical zone	Number of stocks with uncertain status	Number of stocks with uncertain status where conservation risk to the stock is likely or possible
2015 survey results	159	78	28	19	34	10
2016 survey results	170	76	31	21	42	14
2017 survey results	179	63	25	18	73	22
2018 survey results	177	58	27	19	73	25
2019 survey results	176	52	29	25	70	26
Difference between 2015 and 2019 survey results	Increased by 17	Decreased by 26	Increased by 1	Increased by 6	Increased by 36	Increased by 16

Management plans and species at risk

Section 2 of the framework looks at the status of integrated fishery management plans (IMFPs) and the number of stocks whose fisheries interact with species at risk.

Fishery management plans

The following table shows the status of IFMPs. The 2019 survey results show an increase in the number of stocks in the survey which are a part of a fishery plan.

	Total number of stocks in survey	Number of management plans developed	Number of management plans posted
2015 survey results	159	57 plans covering 116 stocks	35
2016 survey results	170	59 plans covering 122 stocks	39
2017 survey results	179	64 plans covering 137 stocks	52
2018 survey results	177	65 plans covering 158 stocks	56
2019 survey results	176	64 plans covering 154 stocks	55
Difference between 2015 and 2019 survey results	Increased by 17	Increased by 6 plans covering 38 stocks	Increased by 20

Species at risk

The following table shows the number of major stocks whose fisheries interact with species listed ‘at risk.’ It also shows the number that have management measures in place to mitigate threats to species at risk. The 2019 results show no significant change between years.

The decrease in stocks with management measures to mitigate risks to species covered by the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was largely a result of a change in definitions. Previously, if a stock had handled SARA species “in a manner that causes the least amount of harm,” we included it as a mitigation measure.

However, handling with minimal harm is no longer considered a mitigation measure by the survey. This is because it’s now a requirement under the licence conditions of harvesters and not an optional mitigation measure.

	Total number of stocks in the survey	Number of stocks that have interactions with species at risk	Number of stocks that have management measures in place to mitigate risk to species at risk
2015 survey results	159	112	109
2016 survey results	170	106	101
2017 survey results	179	92	65
2018 survey results	177	114	79
2019 survey results	176	115	105
Difference between 2015 and 2019 survey results	Increased by 17	Increased by 3	Decreased by 4

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