Questionnaire Report for Yelloweye rockfish
(MERA version 5.4.3)
Abdul Ben-Hasan (a.benhasan@gmail.com)
2019-11-26
About this document
This is a prototype of an automatic report that documents how the user specified the operating model and their various justifications.
Introduction
Describe the history and current status of the fishery, including fleets, sectors, vessel types and practices/gear by vessel type, landing ports, economics/markets, whether targeted/bycatch, other stocks caught in the fishery. (from assessment report https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/365329.pdf) “Fisheries reference points consistent with DFO’s Precautionary Reference Points are presented for this assessment. There is a 63% probability that stock biomass in 2014 is below the Limit Reference Point (LRP) of 0.4BMSY and a 99% probability that it is below the Upper Stock Reference (USR) of 0.8BMSY.” (from https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) “Yelloweye Rockfish are caught primarily by demersal hook and line gear in Aboriginal, recreational and commercial fisheries coastwide (Yamanaka and Lacko 2001). Common gear types used are rod and reel rigged with single or multiple hooks operated manually by the fisher (“handline”) or longline systems with multiple hooks that are operated hydraulically. Rod and reel gear is jigged just off the bottom and longline gear is set directly on the bottom. The largest commercial landings of Yelloweye Rockfish are taken in the directed commercial halibut and rockfish fisheries. Incidental catch occurs in other directed commercial fisheries, such as those for dogfish, lingcod and salmon and to a lesser extent in groundfish and shrimp trawl fisheries and prawn and sablefish trap fisheries. Trawl gear types, because of their use either off the substrate (mid-water) or over smooth substrates (bottom trawl) do not typically intercept Yelloweye Rockfish."
Describe the stock’s ecosystem functions, dependencies, and habitat types. (from website: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/yelloweye-rockfish-sebaste-yeuxjaunes-eng.html) "Yelloweye are found only in the northeast Pacific and have been observed from Ensenada, Baja California to Umnak Island in the Aleutian Islands. They are present throughout the coastal waters of British Columbia.
Fisheries harvest 95% of their Yelloweye catch between 19 and 251 m depth. Yelloweye Rockfish have been observed from submersibles in depths from 30 to 232 m, over substrates that are hard, complex and with some vertical relief, such as broken rock, rock reefs, ridges, overhangs, crevices, caves, cobble and boulder fields."
- Provide all relevant reference materials, such as assessments, research, and other analysis. Website: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/yelloweye-rockfish-sebaste-yeuxjaunes-eng.html Report: https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/346394.pdf Report: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf Report: https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/365329.pdf
Fishery Characteristics
Longevity
| Answered |
|---|
| Very short-lived (5 < maximum age < 7) |
| Short-lived (7 < maximum age < 10) |
| Moderate life span (10 < maximum age < 20) |
| Moderately long-lived (20 < maximum age < 40) |
| Long-lived (40 < maximum age < 80) |
| Very long-lived (80 < maximum age < 160) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
(from assessment report https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/365329.pdf) “Yelloweye Rockfish is long-lived with ages recorded to 121 years for females and 115 years for males in BC” |
Stock depletion
| Answered |
|---|
| Crashed (D < 0.05) |
| Very depleted (0.05 < D < 0.1) |
| Depleted (0.1 < D < 0.15) |
| Moderately depleted (0.15 < D < 0.3) |
| Healthy (0.3 < D < 0.5) |
| Underexploited (0.5 < D) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
(from assesment report: https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/365329.pdf) “The biomass in 2014 (B2014) is estimated at 3,821 t (90% credibility interval of 2,428 – 7,138 t), which is 18% (90% credibility interval 10 – 33 %) of the estimated initial biomass (B1918) of 21,955 t (90% credibility interval 13,747 – 37,694 t) in 1918.” |
Resilence
| Answered |
|---|
| Not resilient (steepness < 0.3) |
| Low resilience (0.3 < steepness < 0.5) |
| Moderate resilence (0.5 < steepness < 0.7) |
| Resilient (0.7 < steepness < 0.9) |
| Very Resilient (0.9 < steepness) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No information provided about steepness for the yelloweye rockfish stock. |
Historical effort pattern
| Answered |
|---|
| Stable |
| Two-phase |
| Boom-bust |
| Gradual increases |
| Stable, recent increases |
| Stable, recent declines |
| Justification |
|---|
| No graphs provided for yelloweye rockfish to evaluate the historical effort pattern. |
Inter-annual variability in historical effort
| Answered |
|---|
| Not variable (less than 20% inter-annual change (IAC)) |
| Variable (maximum IAC between 20% to 50%) |
| Highly variable (maximum IAC between 50% and 100%) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Historical fishing efficiency changes
| Answered |
|---|
| Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years) |
| Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years) |
| Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years) |
| Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years) |
| Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years) |
| Justification |
|---|
| Information on fishing efficiency changes over time is not available (assessment report: https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf). |
Future fishing efficiency changes
| Answered |
|---|
| Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years) |
| Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years) |
| Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years) |
| Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years) |
| Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Length at maturity
| Answered |
|---|
| Very small (0.4 < LM < 0.5) |
| Small (0.5 < LM < 0.6) |
| Moderate (0.6 < LM < 0.7) |
| Moderate to large (0.7 < LM < 0.8) |
| Large (0.8 < LM < 0.9) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
(from assessment report: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf ; page 28) " Half of individuals between 42.1 – 49.1 cm in fork length and 17.2 – 20.3 years of age are sexually mature (Kronlund and Yamanaka 2001)." |
Selectivity of small fish
| Answered |
|---|
| Very small (0.1 < S < 0.2) |
| Small (0.2 < S < 0.4) |
| Half asymptotic length (0.4 < S < 0.6) |
| Large (0.6 < S < 0.8) |
| Very large (0.8 < S < 0.9) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No information about the selectivity of small fish. |
Selectivity of large fish
| Answered |
|---|
| Asymptotic selectivity (SL = 1) |
| Declining selectivity with length (0.75 < SL < 1) |
| Dome-shaped selectivity (0.25 < SL < 0.75) |
| Strong dome-shaped selectivity (SL < 0.25) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No information was provided about the selectivity of the fishery to larger fish. |
Discard rate
| Answered |
|---|
| Low (DR < 1%) |
| Low - moderate (1% < DR < 10%) |
| Moderate (10% < DR < 30%) |
| Moderate - high (30% < DR < 50%) |
| High (50% < DR < 70%) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
Assessment reports did not report an explicit range of discard rate; but many studies report that discarding of the yelloweye rockfish happens. Report: https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf |
Post-release mortality rate
| Answered |
|---|
| Low (PRM < 5%) |
| Low - moderate (5% < PRM < 25%) |
| Moderate (25% < PRM < 50%) |
| Moderate - high (50% < PRM < 75%) |
| High (75% < PRM < 95%) |
| Almost all die (95% < PRM < 100%) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
(from assessment report: https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) “Rockfish populations are characterized by highly variable recruitment. Prolonged periods of poor recruitment result in natural population declines. Recruitment failure has occurred, for Yelloweye Rockfish, in Oregon and California in ten years following 1987 (Wallace 2001). Unfavourable oceanic conditions are a likely cause for recruitment failure but specific environmental factors that lead to Yelloweye Rockfish recruitment failures in B.C. are unknown. In California, links have been made to oceanographic conditions such as upwelling and strong onshore drift (Yoklavich et al. 1996).” But the variation in recruitment could also be unknown for this stock as indicated by the following report: "http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/mpo-dfo/Fs70-5-2011-129-eng.pdf |
Recruitment variability
| Answered |
|---|
| Very low (less than 20% inter-annual changes (IAC)) |
| Low (max IAC of between 20% and 60%) |
| Moderate (max IAC of between 60% and 120%) |
| High (max IAC of between 120% and 180%) |
| Very high (max IAC greater than 180%) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
(from assessment report: https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) “Rockfish populations are characterized by highly variable recruitment. Prolonged periods of poor recruitment result in natural population declines. Recruitment failure has occurred, for Yelloweye Rockfish, in Oregon and California in ten years following 1987 (Wallace 2001). Unfavourable oceanic conditions are a likely cause for recruitment failure but specific environmental factors that lead to Yelloweye Rockfish recruitment failures in B.C. are unknown. In California, links have been made to oceanographic conditions such as upwelling and strong onshore drift (Yoklavich et al. 1996).” But the variation in recruitment could also be unknown for this stock as indicated by the following report: "http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/mpo-dfo/Fs70-5-2011-129-eng.pdf |
Size of an existing MPA
| Answered |
|---|
| None |
| Small (A < 5%) |
| Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%) |
| Moderate (10% < A < 20%) |
| Large (20% < A < 30%) |
| Very large (30% < A < 40%) |
| Huge (40% < A < 50%) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
Note the description the spatial closure from the report (https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf): “Rockfish Conservation Areas (areas closed to fishing) protect 20% of rockfish habitats outside and 30% of rockfish habitats on the inside. These closed areas are intended to protect Yelloweye Rockfish and other inshore rockfish species.” |
Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of existing MPA
| Answered |
|---|
| Very low (P < 1%) |
| Low (1% < P < 5%) |
| Moderate (5% < P < 10%) |
| High (10% < P < 20%) |
| Fully mixed |
| Justification |
|---|
| Yelloweye rockfish is a sedentary species over rocky reef habitat (see report: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf). |
Size of a future potential MPA
| Answered |
|---|
| None |
| Small (A < 5%) |
| Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%) |
| Moderate (10% < A < 20%) |
| Large (20% < A < 30%) |
| Very large (30% < A < 40%) |
| Huge (40% < A < 50%) |
| Justification |
|---|
| This information was not provided in the assessment reports. |
Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of future potential MPA
| Answered |
|---|
| Very low (P < 1%) |
| Low (1% < P < 5%) |
| Moderate (5% < P < 10%) |
| High (10% < P < 20%) |
| Fully mixed |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Initial stock depletion
| Answered |
|---|
| Very low (0.1 < D1 < 0.15) |
| Low (0.15 < D1 < 0.3) |
| Moderate (0.3 < D < 0.5) |
| High (0.5 < D1) |
| Asymptotic unfished levels (D1 = 1) |
| Justification |
|---|
| Assessment report: https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/365329.pdf |
Management Characteristics
Types of fishery management that are possible
| Answered |
|---|
| TAC (Total Allowable Catch): a catch limit |
| TAE (Total Allowable Effort): an effort limit |
| Size limit |
| Time-area closures (a marine reserve) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
1. Describe what, if any, current management measures are used to constrain catch/effort. (from http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/yelloweye-rockfish-sebaste-yeuxjaunes-eng.html) “Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCA), closed to all commercial and recreational fishing, protect rockfish habitat with a goal of protecting 20% and 30% of rockfish habitat within RCAs for the outside and inside waters, respectively. Currently 164 such RCAs are in place.” Also, “Recreational harvests are managed by bag limits. In 1986 an eight rockfish daily bag limit was implemented coastwide for the recreational fishery. In 1992 the daily bag limit for the Strait of Georgia recreational fishery was reduced from eight to five rockfish. Further reductions, in 2002, included five rockfish per day of which no more than 2 Yelloweye Rockfish were permitted for the outside and one rockfish of any species per day for the inside. The directed commercial hook and line fishery for rockfish was licensed in 1986 (Yamanaka and Lacko 2001, Kronlund and Yamanaka 1997, Yamanaka and Kronlund 1997). Area licensing (restricting licence-holders to waters inside or outside the Strait of Georgia Management Region) and catch quotas for each of five management regions were introduced in 1991. Limited entry licensing was implemented for the inside (Strait of Georgia) management region in 1992 and for the remainder of the coast (outside) in 1993. Limited entry licensing reduced the number of licences to 74 in the Strait of Georgia and to 183 licences outside from over 2400 licenses coastwide in 1986. Within the quotas in place since 1991, allocations have been made to the various commercial fisheries; trawl, directed hook and line rockfish, and hook and line halibut” (from assessment report page 35: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) 2. Describe historical management measures, if any. Table 11 page 35 in the assessment report: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf 3. Describe main strengths and weaknesses of current monitoring and enforcement capacity. No details provide din the assessment reports. 4. Describe and reference any legal/policy requirements for management, monitoring and enforcement. No details provided in the assessment reports. |
TAC offset: consistent overages/underages
| Answered |
|---|
| Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended) |
| Underages (70% - 90% of recommended) |
| Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended) |
| Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended) |
| Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended) |
| Overages (110% - 150% of recommended) |
| Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended) |
| Justification |
|---|
| Given that there is some evidence of discards (https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf), one would expect that overages do occur. |
TAC implementation variability
| Answered |
|---|
| Constant (V < 1%) |
| Not variable (1% < V < 5%) |
| Low variability (5% < V < 10%) |
| Variable (10% < V < 20%) |
| Highly variable (20% < V < 40%) |
| Justification |
|---|
|
No details provided in the assessment reports. |
TAE offset: consistent overages/underages
| Answered |
|---|
| Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended) |
| Underages (70% - 90% of recommended) |
| Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended) |
| Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended) |
| Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended) |
| Overages (110% - 150% of recommended) |
| Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No TAE implemented on harvesting yelloweye rockfish stock (see any of the previously mentioned links for assessment reports). |
TAE implementation variability
| Answered |
|---|
| Constant (V < 1%) |
| Not variable (1% < V < 5%) |
| Low variability (5% < V < 10%) |
| Variable (10% < V < 20%) |
| Highly variable (20% < V < 40%) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Size limit offset: consistent overages/underages
| Answered |
|---|
| Much smaller (40% - 70% of recommended) |
| Smaller (70% - 90% of recommended) |
| Slightly smaller (90% - 100% of recommended) |
| Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended) |
| Slightly larger (100% - 110% of recommended) |
| Larger (110% - 150% of recommended) |
| Much larger (150% - 200% of recommended) |
| Justification |
|---|
| None of the assessment reports mention anything about size limits implemented on the yelloweye rockfish. |
Size limit implementation variability
| Answered |
|---|
| Constant (V < 1%) |
| Not variable (1% < V < 5%) |
| Low variability (5% < V < 10%) |
| Variable (10% < V < 20%) |
| Highly variable (20% < V < 40%) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Data Characteristics
Available data types
| Answered |
|---|
| Historical annual catches (from unfished) |
| Recent annual catches (at least 5 recent years) |
| Historical relative abundance index (from unfished) |
| Recent relative abundance index (at least 5 recent years) |
| Fishing effort |
| Size composition (length samples) |
| Age composition (age samples) |
| Growth (growth parameters) |
| Absolute biomass survey |
| Justification |
|---|
|
1. Provide the time series (specify years, if possible) that exist for catch, effort, and CPUE/abundance indices. Tables 12, and 18-22 in https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf. 2. Describe how these data collected (e.g., log books, dealer reporting, observers). (from assessment report: https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) “The “official” DFO catch record starts in 1951 with the initiation of the sale slip system designed to track commercial catch by area and gear type. “…” integrated dockside monitoring and logbook “…Reconstruction of early catch through”many anecdotal records of the early catch of Yelloweye Rockfish in B.C. “ 3. Describe what types of sampling programs and methodologies exist for data collection, including the time-series of available sampling data and quality. Table 3 summarizes the fishery independent research surveys conducted to catch the yelloweye rockfish (report: https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/40683874.pdf) 4. Describe all sources of uncertainty in the status, biology, life history and data sources of the fishery. Include links to documentation, reports. from assessment report (http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/mpo-dfo/Fs70-5-2011-129-eng.pdf)”1)Trends in abundance The longest available time series of abundance, 1986 to 2008, is from the spiny dogfish survey which is conducted at index sites in the Strait of Georgia (lower portion of the inside area). This area has experienced greater fishing pressure than other portions of the inside waters and may not be representative of the entire inside yelloweye rockfish population. The inshore rockfish longline survey, although very short in duration (2003 to 2009), does not show as great a decline in areas outside of the Strait of Georgia (Area 12, in the northern portion of the inside waters and in the mainland inlets Area 13, 15, and 28) (Figure 2 and 9). The spiny dogfish survey may indicate the most extreme declines for the inside yelloweye rockfish stock. The inshore rockfish survey depth strata, extends from 40 to 100 m which covers the shallow portion of the entire depth range for yelloweye rockfish. Peak abundance for yelloweye rockfish in outside waters is 150 m. Although there is little rocky habitat below 100 m in the inside waters, this portion of the population is not surveyed but may represent higher densities of yelloweye rockfish than the shallower waters that are surveyed. 2) Continued decline of abundance indices in spite of decreased fishery harvests Troubling to the authors is the observation that most abundance indices have continued to decline despite substantial declines in fishery catch since the early 1990s. The BSP model is unable to account for these declines based on fishing effort. Other possible explanations, outside of fishing effort, could be a lag in population response to the reduction in fishing effort and/or recruitment declines or failure. Another possible influence on the yelloweye rockfish population is predation by pinnipeds." |
Catch reporting bias
| Answered |
|---|
| Strong under-reporting (30% - 50%) |
| Under-reporting (10% - 30%) |
| Slight under-reporting (0% - 10%) |
| Reported accurately (+/- 5%) |
| Slight over-reporting (less than 10%) |
| Justification |
|---|
| Highly uncertain, but reports mention under-reporting issues for rockfish (page 23: https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_yelloweye_rockfish_0809_e.pdf) |
Hyperstability in indices
| Answered |
|---|
| Strong hyperdepletion (2 < Beta < 3) |
| Hyperdepletion (1.25 < Beta < 2) |
| Proportional (0.8 < Beta < 1.25) |
| Hyperstability (0.5 < Beta < 0.8) |
| Strong hyperstability (0.33 < Beta < 0.5) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No information was found on hyperstability. |
Available data types
| Answered |
|---|
| Perfect |
| Good (accurate and precise) |
| Data moderate (some what inaccurate and imprecise) |
| Data poor (inaccurate and imprecise) |
| Justification |
|---|
| No justification was provided |
Version Notes
The package is subject to ongoing testing. If you find a bug or a problem please send a report to t.carruthers@oceans.ubc.ca so that it can be fixed!
tcar_-2019-11-26-10:25:40
Open Source, GPL-2 2019