Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Re-assessmemt of Clearwater Seafoods Banquereau and Grand Banks Arctic surf clam fishery MSC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES CERTIFICATION Clearwater Seafoods Banquereau and Grand Bank Arctic Surf Clam Fishery September 2017 Prepared For: F-ACO-0018 Prepared By: Acoura Marine Ltd Authors: Paul Knapman, Julian Addison, Rob Blyth-Skyrme Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Re-assessmemt of Clearwater Seafoods Banquereau and Grand Banks Arctic surf clam fishery Contents Glossary................................................................................................................................ 3 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 4 2 Authorship and Peer Reviewers ..................................................................................... 6 2.1 Assessment Team .................................................................................................. 6 2.1.1 Peer Reviewers .................................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 RBF Training ........................................................................................................ 7 3 Description of the Fishery .............................................................................................. 8 3.1 Unit of Assessment (UoA) and Scope of Certification Sought ................................. 8 3.2 UoAs and Proposed Unit of Certification (UoC) ....................................................... 9 3.3 Final UoC(s) ............................................................................................................ 9 3.3.1 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data ................................................ 10 3.4 Overview of the fishery ......................................................................................... 10 3.4.1 History of the fishery ...................................................................................... 14 3.5 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................... 17 3.5.1 Life history of Arctic surf clam ........................................................................ 17 3.5.2 Management Unit .......................................................................................... 18 3.5.3 Harvest strategy ............................................................................................. 19 3.5.4 Stock assessment .......................................................................................... 20 3.5.5 Management advice....................................................................................... 24 3.5.6 Reference points ............................................................................................ 25 3.5.7 Harvest Control Rules .................................................................................... 26 3.5.8 Current Stock status ...................................................................................... 32 3.6 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................. 40 3.6.1 Banquereau Bank .......................................................................................... 40 3.6.2 Grand Bank ................................................................................................... 41 3.6.3 Retained and bycatch species ....................................................................... 43 3.6.4 Endangered, threatened or protected (ETP) species. .................................... 47 3.6.5 Habitats ......................................................................................................... 48 3.6.6 Ecosystem ..................................................................................................... 48 3.7 Principle Three: Management System Background............................................... 49 3.7.1 Area of operation of the UoAs ........................................................................ 49 3.7.2 Jurisdiction ..................................................................................................... 49 3.8 Legal and policy framework .................................................................................. 50 3.8.1 Dispute resolution .......................................................................................... 51 3.8.2 Consultation, roles and responsibilities .......................................................... 52 3.8.3 Long term and fishery specific objectives ....................................................... 53 3.8.4 The decision-making process ........................................................................ 54 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 1 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Re-assessmemt of Clearwater Seafoods Banquereau and Grand Banks Arctic surf clam fishery 3.8.5 Incentives for sustainable fishing ................................................................... 54 3.8.6 Monitoring, control and surveillance ............................................................... 54 3.8.7 Management evaluation ................................................................................. 55 3.8.8 Research ....................................................................................................... 55 4 Evaluation Procedure ................................................................................................... 57 4.1 Harmonised fishery assessment ........................................................................... 57 4.2 Previous assessments .......................................................................................... 58 4.3 Assessment Methodologies .................................................................................. 61 4.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques ................................................................. 61 4.4.1 Site Visits ....................................................................................................... 61 4.4.2 Consultations ................................................................................................. 62 4.4.3 Evaluation Techniques ................................................................................... 62 5 Traceability .................................................................................................................. 63 5.1 Eligibility Date ....................................................................................................... 63 5.2 Traceability within the fishery ................................................................................ 63 5.3 Eligibility to enter further Chains of Custody .......................................................... 65 6 Evaluation Results ....................................................................................................... 66 6.1 Principle level scores ............................................................................................ 66 6.2 Summary of PI scores ........................................................................................... 66 6.3 Summary of Conditions ......................................................................................... 67 6.4 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 67 6.5 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement ............................................... 67 References ......................................................................................................................... 68 Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 73 Appendix 1a – MSC Principles & Criteria ......................................................................... 73 Appendix 1.1 Performance Indicator Scores and Rationale ............................................ 76 Appendix 1.3 Conditions ................................................................................................ 150 Appendix 2 Peer Review Reports...................................................................................... 154 Appendix 3 Stakeholder submissions ................................................................................ 169 Appendix 4 Surveillance Frequency .................................................................................. 172 Appendix 5 Objections Process ........................................................................................ 173 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 2 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Re-assessmemt of Clearwater Seafoods Banquereau and Grand Banks Arctic surf clam fishery Glossary CHEA Canadian Hokkigai Export Association CSLP Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership DFO Department of Fisheries and Oceans EA Enterprise Allocation EAC Ecology Action Centre EBSA Ecologically and biologically significant area ESSIM Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (Initiative/Project) ETP Endangered, threatened or protected (species) IFMP Integrated fisheries management plan JPA Joint project agreement LOMA Large ocean management area LRP Limit reference point MCY Maximum constant yield MPA Marine protected area MSC Marine Stewardship Council MSY Maximum sustainable yield NAFO Northwest Atlantic Fisheries