Submitted to the Marine Stewardship Council on June 1, 2009. The Manuscript Report will be available through DFO’s library website at http://inter01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/waves2/index.html Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences #### 2009 CERTIFICATION UNIT PROFILE: NORTH COAST AND CENTRAL COAST CHUM SALMON by B. Spilsted and G. Pestal1 Fisheries & Aquaculture Management Branch Department of Fisheries and Oceans 200 - 401 Burrard St Vancouver, BC V6C 3S4 1SOLV Consulting Ltd., Vancouver, BC V6H 4B9 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2009. Cat. No. Fs 97-4/2855E-PDF ISSN 1488-5387 Correct citation for this publication: Spilsted, S. and G. Pestal. 2009. Certification Unit Profile: North Coast and Central Coast Chum Salmon. Can. Man. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. ####: vii + 65p. Table of Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................................vi Résumé ..........................................................................................................................................vi Preface ..........................................................................................................................................vii 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Stocks covered in this document ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Fisheries covered in this document............................................................................................. 1 2 Background and Objectives .................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Life history.................................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.1 Stock units...........................................................................................................................................................3 2.1.2 Stock characteristics............................................................................................................................................6 2.2 Stock enhancement activities...................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Enhancement approach .......................................................................................................................................8 2.2.2 North & Central Coast chum enhancement facilities..........................................................................................9 2.3 Fisheries intercepting North & Central Coast chum salmon...................................................... 9 2.3.1 Overview.............................................................................................................................................................9 2.3.2 First Nations......................................................................................................................................................10 2.3.3 Recreational ......................................................................................................................................................11 2.3.4 Commercial.......................................................................................................................................................12 2.4 Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 13 2.4.1 Regional objectives...........................................................................................................................................13 2.4.2 Conservation objectives for North & Central Coast chum salmon ...................................................................14 2.4.3 Management objectives for North & Central Coast chum salmon fisheries .....................................................14 2.4.4 Performance measures ......................................................................................................................................15 3 Management Framework .................................................................................................... 16 3.1 Regional approach to salmon harvest....................................................................................... 16 3.2 Harvest strategy for North & Central Coast chum salmon....................................................... 17 3.3 Decision guidelines for commercial fisheries........................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Queen Charlotte Islands terminal chum fisheries (Areas 1 & 2).......................................................................17 3.3.2 North Coast incidental chum harvests (Areas 3 to 5)........................................................................................19 3.3.3 Area 6 terminal chum fishery (Kitimat)............................................................................................................21 3.3.4 Area 7 terminal chum fisheries (Mussel, Kainet, Neekas, Quartcha and Roscoe)............................................22 3.3.5 Area 8 Terminal Chum Fisheries (Kimsquit, Bella Coola)...............................................................................23 3.3.6 Area 10 Terminal chum fishery experiment (Nekite) .......................................................................................25 3.3.7 Summary: Annual timeline for commercial chum fisheries..............................................................................25 4 Assessment Framework....................................................................................................... 26 4.1 Overview................................................................................................................................... 26 iii 4.2 Annual monitoring.................................................................................................................... 27 4.2.1 Escapement .......................................................................................................................................................27 4.2.2 Other abundance monitoring programs.............................................................................................................28 4.2.3 Catch Monitoring..............................................................................................................................................29 4.3 Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 31 4.3.1 Stock Composition............................................................................................................................................31 4.3.2 Forecasts ...........................................................................................................................................................32 4.3.3 Trend Summaries..............................................................................................................................................32 5 Stock Status........................................................................................................................... 34 5.1 Regular status evaluations ........................................................................................................ 34 5.2 Current status............................................................................................................................ 34 5.2.1 Conservation priorities......................................................................................................................................34 5.2.2 Trends ...............................................................................................................................................................36 6 Conservation Measures in North & Central Coast Chum Fisheries............................... 39 6.1 Coast-wide conservation strategy............................................................................................. 39 6.2 Chum conservation measures ................................................................................................... 39 6.3 Measures to reduce incidental harvest and by-catch in chum fisheries.................................... 40 References .................................................................................................................................... 42 Tables............................................................................................................................................ 44 Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 55 iv List of Tables Table 1. Population structure of North & Central Coast chum salmon. ........................................................44 Table 2. Escapement summary for North & Central Coast chum salmon .....................................................47 Table 3. Size summary for North & Central Coast chum salmon..................................................................49 Table 4. Commercial catch summary for North & Central Coast chum salmon ...........................................50 Table 5. Operational Management