Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock MSC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES CERTIFICATION Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Public Comment Draft Report May 2018 Prepared For: Russian Pollock Catchers Association Prepared By: Acoura Marine Ltd Authors: Andrew I.L. Payne, Robert O’Boyle, David W. Japp Acoura Version V2.1 04/01/17 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Fishery name Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Fishery Species and Stock Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) Date of Site Visit Week beginning 2 October 2017 Assessment team Lead assessor: Andrew I.L. Payne (TL & P3) Assessor(s): Robert O’Boyle (P1) David W. Japp (P2) CAB name Acoura Marine CAB contact details Address 6 Redheughs Rigg Edinburgh EH12 9DQ United Kingdom Phone/Fax +44 (0)131 335 6662 Email [email protected] Contact name(s) Polly Burns Client contact details Address Russian Pollock Catchers Association (PCA) 517B, 51-a, Svetlanskaya Street Vladivostok 690990 Russia Phone/Fax +7 (423) 222 43 13 Email [email protected] Contact name(s) Alexey Buglak Page 2 of 230 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................... 3 Glossary................................................................................................................................ 6 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 8 Client strengths ....................................................................................................... 8 Client weaknesses .................................................................................................. 8 Determination ......................................................................................................... 8 Rationale ................................................................................................................ 9 Conditions and Recommendations ......................................................................... 9 2 Authorship and Peer Reviewers ................................................................................... 10 2.1 Assessment Team ................................................................................................ 10 2.1.1 Peer Reviewers ................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 RBF Training ....................................................................................................... 12 3 Description of the Fishery ............................................................................................ 13 Unit(s) of Assessment (UoA) and Scope of Certification Sought ........................... 13 Eligible Fishers .............................................................................................. 13 Rationale for Unit of Certification (UoC) ......................................................... 13 Unit of Assessment (UoA) and Proposed Unit of Certification ............................... 13 Final UoC(s) .......................................................................................................... 15 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data ................................................ 15 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Enhanced Fisheries .............................. 15 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Introduced Species Based Fisheries ..... 15 Overview of the fishery ......................................................................................... 15 Area under Evaluation ................................................................................... 16 Fishery Ownership and Organizational Structure ........................................... 16 History of the Fishery, and the Current Fleet .................................................. 20 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................... 22 Stock Status .................................................................................................. 22 Reference Points ........................................................................................... 25 Harvest Strategy ............................................................................................ 26 Information and Monitoring ............................................................................ 32 Stock Assessment ......................................................................................... 44 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................. 53 General Ecosystem Characteristics ............................................................... 53 Information available for Principle 2 evaluation .............................................. 55 Retained Species (bycatch) ........................................................................... 58 Bycatch Species (Discard) ............................................................................. 65 Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species ........................................... 73 Page 3 of 230 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Habitat ........................................................................................................... 77 Ecosystem ..................................................................................................... 80 Principle Three: Management System Background............................................... 82 General Overview .......................................................................................... 82 The Legislative Framework ............................................................................ 83 Agencies and Mandates ................................................................................ 87 The Precautionary Nature of SOO Fisheries Management ............................ 95 Summary Overview of Fisheries Management ............................................... 96 4 Evaluation Procedure ................................................................................................... 98 Harmonised Fishery Assessment .......................................................................... 98 Previous assessments .......................................................................................... 98 Assessment Methodologies ................................................................................ 101 Evaluation Processes and Techniques ............................................................... 101 Site Visits ..................................................................................................... 101 Consultations ............................................................................................... 103 Evaluation Techniques ................................................................................. 103 5 Traceability ................................................................................................................ 105 Eligibility Date ..................................................................................................... 105 Traceability within the Fishery ............................................................................. 105 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ...................................................... 107 Eligibility of Inseparable or Practicably Inseparable (IPI) stock(s) to Enter Further Chains of Custody ......................................................................................................... 108 6 Evaluation Results ..................................................................................................... 109 Principle Level Scores ........................................................................................ 109 Summary of PI Level Scores ............................................................................... 109 Principle ............................................................................................................................ 109 Summary of Conditions ....................................................................................... 110 Recommendations .............................................................................................. 110 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement ............................................. 111 Changes in the fishery prior to and since Pre-Assessment ................................. 111 References ....................................................................................................................... 112 Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 119 Appendix 1a – MSC Principles and Criteria ................................................................... 119 Appendix 1.1 Performance Indicator Scores and Rationale ........................................... 122 PI 1.1.1 Stock Status ................................................................................................. 122 PI 1.1.2 Reference Points .......................................................................................... 124 PI 1.1.3 Stock Rebuilding ..........................................................................................