Risk Assessment of Permitted Human Activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia
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Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Research Document 2020/020 Pacific Region Risk assessment of permitted human activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia Thornborough1, K.J., Lancaster2, D., Dunham3, J.S., Yu3, F., Ladell3, N., Deleys4, N., Yamanaka4, L. 1Independent Researcher 2/51 Ashburner Street Manly, NSW, Australia, 2095 2Fisheries and Oceans Canada Regional Headquarters East White Hills Road P.O. Box 5667 St John’s, NL, A1C 5X1 3Fisheries and Oceans Canada Regional Headquarters 401 Burrard St #200 Vancouver, BC, V6C 3S4 4Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Biological Station 3190 Hammond Bay Road Nanaimo, BC V9T 6N7 April 2020 Foreword This series documents the scientific basis for the evaluation of aquatic resources and ecosystems in Canada. As such, it addresses the issues of the day in the time frames required and the documents it contains are not intended as definitive statements on the subjects addressed but rather as progress reports on ongoing investigations. Published by: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat 200 Kent Street Ottawa ON K1A 0E6 http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/ [email protected] © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2020 ISSN 1919-5044 Correct citation for this publication: Thornborough, K.J., Lancaster, D., Dunham, J.S., Yu, F., Ladell, N., Deleys, N., Yamanaka, L. 2020. Risk assessment of permitted human activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2020/020. ix + 280 p. Aussi disponible en français : Thornborough, K.J., Lancaster, D., Dunham, J.S., Yu, F., Ladell, N., Deleys, N., Yamanaka, L.. 2020. Évaluation des risques liés aux activités humaines autorisées dans les aires de conservation du sébaste en Colombie•Britannique. Secr. can. de consult. sci. du MPO. Doc. de rech. 2020/020. x + 344 p. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................ ix INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................1 ROCKFISH CONSERVATION AREAS ...............................................................................2 1.1 INSHORE ROCKFISHES ........................................................................................... 2 1.2 ESTABLISHMENT OF ROCKFISH CONSERVATION AREAS .................................. 5 RCAS AND OEABCM CRITERIA 1 TO 4 ............................................................................7 2.1 CRITERION 1: CLEARLY DEFINED GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION .............................. 7 2.2 CRITERION 2: CONSERVATION OR STOCK MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES .......... 8 2.3 CRITERION 3: PRESENCE OF ECOLOGICAL COMPONENTS OF INTEREST ....... 8 2.4 CRITERION 4: LONG-TERM DURATION OF IMPLEMENTATION ...........................17 2.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................17 OEABCM CRITERION 5 AND ENFORCEMENT, EDUCATION, AND MONITORING ......18 3.1 ENFORCEMENT.......................................................................................................18 3.2 COMPLIANCE...........................................................................................................19 3.3 EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ................................................................................22 3.4 MONITORING ...........................................................................................................23 LEVEL 1 QUALITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT..................................................................23 4.1 RISK OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE................................................................................24 4.2 METHODS ................................................................................................................24 4.3 RESULTS..................................................................................................................31 4.4 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................47 RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................................55 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................56 REFERENCES CITED..............................................................................................................57 APPENDIX A: RCA CONSERVATION, GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND INTENTS ......................67 APPENDIX B: FISHERY TEMPORAL INFORMATION .............................................................69 APPENDIX C: DATA AND ASSESSMENT OF ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES .....................73 C.1. CRAB BY TRAP ............................................................................................................73 C.2. GROUNDFISH MID-WATER TRAWL............................................................................77 C.3. COMMERCIAL PRAWN AND SHRIMP BY TRAP .........................................................81 C.4. TOTAL ROCKFISH BYCATCH COASTWIDE (BY REGION) INSIDE AND OUTSIDE RCAS IN PRAWN TRAPS (ALL ROCKFISH AND INSHORE ROCKFISH). ..........................88 C.5. SCALLOP TRAWL.........................................................................................................95 C.6. KRILL BY MID-WATER TRAWL....................................................................................97 C.7. SARDINE, SMELT, AND HERRING BY SEINE, GILLNET, AND SPAWN-ON-KELP ....98 C.8. OPAL SQUID BY SEINE NET .......................................................................................99 C.9. SALMON BY SEINE AND GILLNET..............................................................................99 iii C.10. HAND-PICKING OF INVERTEBRATES ....................................................................100 C.11. AQUACULTURE........................................................................................................104 C.12. RECREATIONAL FISHING........................................................................................111 C.13. FOOD, SOCIAL, AND CEREMONIAL FISHING ........................................................115 C.14. COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE (DOCKS AND MARINAS) .......................................118 C.15. EXTRACTIVE RESEARCH SURVEYS......................................................................124 C.16. OUTFALLS................................................................................................................126 C.17. LOG STORAGE.........................................................................................................128 C.18. PETROLEUM TENURES (OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION).......................................131 APPENDIX D: ACTIVITIES AND ASSOCIATED STRESSORS AND INTERACTION MATRIX ..................................................................................................................................135 APPENDIX E: EXPOSURE SCORING ...................................................................................141 E.1. OVERVIEW OF EXPOSURE SCORES .......................................................................141 E.2. EXPOSURE SCORES AND JUSTIFICATIONS BY ACTIVITY ....................................146 APPENDIX F: CONSEQUENCE SCORING ...........................................................................194 F.1. ROCKFISH ..................................................................................................................194 F.2. ROCKY REEFS ...........................................................................................................211 F.3. PREY...........................................................................................................................225 APPENDIX G: RISK RESULTS ..............................................................................................250 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Prey categories of each species of Inshore Rockfish.................................................... 4 Table 2: Permitted fishing activities within RCAs........................................................................ 7 Table 3: Habitat types found in RCAs and the area and proportion of each type in RCAs.........10 Table 4: Fisheries violations in Rockfish Conservation Areas (2002-2015) (J. Fraser and A. Bussell, DFO, RHQ, Vancouver, unpublished data, 2018). Table excludes the outcome of some files including if ongoing after 2015, failures to appear in court or other reasons. .....19 Table 5: Number of Tidal Water Licences Issued from 2006-2017 by Type and Duration (Source: Pacific Region Statistics from Tidal Waters Sportfishing Database and National Recreational Licensing System).........................................................................................20 Table 6: Qualitative scoring bins for sub-terms of Exposuresc (Temporal Scale, Spatial Scale, and Load) (adapted from Murray et al. 2016 and O et al. 2015). (a) temporal scale, (b) spatial scale, and (c) load. .................................................................................................28 Table 7: Qualitative scoring bins for scoring Consequence (adapted from O et al. 2015)..........29 Table 8: Definitions of uncertainty scoring bins, based on categories outlined in Therriault and Herborg (2008) and Therriault et al. (2011) and adapted by O et al. (2015). ......................30 Table 9: Permitted activities occurring within