While there are no changes on the immediate horizon to management measures for lobster fishing areas (LFAs) in the Maritimes, reports are being considered by senior Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) management about the potential effects of adjusting harvest controls for the inshore lobster fishery in the Maritimes Region.
“What we’re trying to do is put out a document to update the effects changing the harvest controls might have to start the conversations, provide everybody with information before we have to start having those tough conversations,” said DFO scientist Adam Cook, co-author of the Science Advisory Report, Effects of Adapting Harvest Controls for the Inshore Lobster Fishery in the Maritimes Region.
The report was generated from a regional peer review on March 24 and 25, prompted by a request for advice from the Maritimes Region Fisheries Management Branch on the potential effects of adjusting management measures — such as changes to legal-size limits, effort controls or season timing — on stock productivity and fishery landings within the Maritimes Region inshore lobster fishery (LFAs 27–38).
“It’s important to take that local context into consideration when discussing harvest controls, but ultimately, we wanted to have something to go and talk to industry, talk to resource management about. What makes sense and can we be pro-active around having these discussions before we get to the point where we’re concerned over the stock, how effective these changes would be, what are some considerations, so we can have those conversations before we have to do something,” said Cook.
There is “no silver bullet” or a one size fits all when it comes to harvest controls, said Cook. “Each LFA is almost like a little experiment. They all fish lobster in different ways, different times of the year, have different harvest controls and they’ve all worked,” he said.
“All these fisheries have been successful over the past number of years, particularly in Nova Scotia and the Gulf. Landings and catch rates peaked in the last number of years. Even though we have a variety of harvest controls already in place, they’ve been successful in allowing the stock to grow, so what different metrics or measures may be put in place… there’s lots of options out there on what makes excellent harvest controls. What we’re trying to do is lay out some of those options. Any harvest control could be on the table if it made sense for the sustainability of the fishery, but some are more practical and would require smaller changes to the fishery,” Cook said.
“This review demonstrates that no single harvest control can achieve all management objectives across the Maritimes Region; rather, an effective strategy requires a complementary suite of measures,” reads the report summary.
The report advises a combined strategy using both fast-acting and slow-acting biological measures, plus targeted effort controls, is more likely to confer long-term resilience. “Application of a portfolio of harvest controls that matches stock trajectory, local biology and fishery behaviour is advised.”
The full report can be found online at: https://csas-scas.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/publications/85e4326d-a26f-43fe-903a-81841191603d
