Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. Sustainable Fisheries Scheme Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Assessment Guyana Seabob Fishery Public Comment Draft Report Report on the 1st full assessment of the fishery Conformity Assessment Body: Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. Fishery Client Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors Report Date May 2019 Assessment Team Members / Authors: Tristan Southall, Team Leader Julian Addison Bert Keus Assessment Secretary: Gunnar Á. Gunnarsson Conformity Assessment Body: Client: Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Þarabakki 3 Seafood Processors (GATOSP) IS-109 Reykjavík Area K Houston, East Bank Demerara Iceland Guyana Tel.: +354 511 1330 Tel: +592 225 2111 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Public Comment Draft Report – Guyana Seabob Fishery page i Contents Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. vi 1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Scope of the Assessment ........................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Assessment Team Members and Secretary ............................................................................ 8 1.3 Outline of the Assessment ...................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Assessed Fishery ..................................................... 8 1.5 Overall Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Draft Determination, Conditions and Recommendations ...................................................... 9 2 Authorship and Peer Reviewers .................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Team Members ..................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Other Special Qualifications Required for the Assessment .......................................... 12 2.2 Use of Risk Based Framework ............................................................................................... 13 2.3 Peer Reviewers...................................................................................................................... 13 3 Description of the Fishery ............................................................................................................. 14 3.1 Unit(s) of Assessment (UoA) and Proposed Scope of Certification ...................................... 14 3.1.1 Units of Assessment and Proposed Units of Certification (UoC) .................................. 14 3.1.2 Final Unit of Certification .............................................................................................. 15 3.1.3 Total Allowable Catch and Catch Data .......................................................................... 15 3.1.4 Enhanced / Introduced Species Based Fisheries (ISBF) ................................................. 15 3.2 Overview of the fishery ......................................................................................................... 16 3.2.1 Background to the Guyana Seabob Fishery .................................................................. 16 3.2.2 Fisheries Client Group ................................................................................................... 17 3.2.3 Operational Characteristics ........................................................................................... 17 3.2.4 Gear Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................................... 20 3.3.1 3.3.1. Biology and Life History ...................................................................................... 20 3.3.2 Evolution of Seabob Management in Guyana .............................................................. 22 3.3.3 Harvest strategy ............................................................................................................ 22 3.3.4 Data & monitoring ........................................................................................................ 24 3.3.5 Stock Assessment Methodology ................................................................................... 24 3.3.6 Stock Status ................................................................................................................... 27 3.4 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................................. 30 3.4.1 Primary Species ............................................................................................................. 30 3.4.2 Secondary Species ......................................................................................................... 30 Public Comment Draft Report – Guyana Seabob Fishery page ii 3.4.3 Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species .......................................................... 33 3.4.4 Habitats ......................................................................................................................... 37 3.4.5 Ecosystem ..................................................................................................................... 42 3.5 Principle Three: Management System Background .............................................................. 48 3.5.1 Jurisdictional Category and Recognised Groups ........................................................... 48 3.5.2 Legal Frameworks ......................................................................................................... 48 4 Evaluation Procedure .................................................................................................................... 51 4.1 Harmonised Fishery Assessment .......................................................................................... 51 4.2 Previous assessments ........................................................................................................... 51 4.3 Assessment Methodologies .................................................................................................. 51 4.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques .................................................................................. 51 4.4.1 Site Visits .............................................................................................................................. 51 4.4.2 Consultations ....................................................................................................................... 52 4.4.3 Evaluation Techniques ......................................................................................................... 54 5 Traceability .................................................................................................................................... 58 5.1 Eligibility Date ....................................................................................................................... 58 5.2 Traceability within the Fishery .............................................................................................. 58 5.3 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ....................................................................... 60 6 Evaluation Results ......................................................................................................................... 61 6.1 Principle Level Scores ............................................................................................................ 61 6.2 Summary of PI Level Scores .................................................................................................. 61 6.3 Summary of Conditions ......................................................................................................... 62 6.4 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 62 6.5 Draft Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement .................................................... 63 6.6 Changes in the fishery prior to and since Pre-Assessment ................................................... 63 7 References .................................................................................................................................... 64 Legislation ..................................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix 1: Scoring and Rationales ...................................................................................................... 70 Appendix 1.1: Performance Indicator Scores and Rationale ............................................................ 70 PI 1.1.1 – Stock status ................................................................................................................... 70 PI 1.1.2 – Stock rebuilding ............................................................................................................. 72 PI 1.2.1 – Harvest strategy ............................................................................................................ 73 PI 1.2.2 – Harvest control