Marine Stewardship Council Iturup Pink & Chum Salmon Fisheries Expedited Assessment for the Addition of Purse Seine Gear Public Certification Report November 3, 2017 Evaluation Prepared for J.S.C. Gidrostroy Evaluation Prepared by Mr. Ray Beamesderfer, Team Leader, Principles 1 & 3 Mrs. Jennifer Humberstone, Principle 2 [BLANK] CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 5 2 AUTHORSHIP & PEER REVIEWERS ........................................................................... 8 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY ................................................................................ 9 3.1 Unit(s) of Certification & Scope of Certification Sought .................................................. 9 3.1.1 UoA and Unit of Certification (UoC) - FINAL...................................................................... 9 3.1.2 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data .................................................................. 10 3.1.3 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Enhanced Fisheries ................................................. 11 3.2 Overview of the Fishery ................................................................................................. 12 3.2.1 Area Description .............................................................................................................. 12 3.2.2 Fishing Method ............................................................................................................... 12 3.2.3 Enhancement .................................................................................................................. 17 3.3 Principle One: Stock Assessment & Status ..................................................................... 19 3.4 Principle Two: Ecosystem Considerations ...................................................................... 19 3.4.1 Retained Species ............................................................................................................. 19 3.4.2 Bycatch Species ............................................................................................................... 21 3.4.3 ETP Species ...................................................................................................................... 25 3.4.4 Habitats ........................................................................................................................... 28 3.4.5 Ecosystem ........................................................................................................................ 29 3.5 Principle Three: Management System Background ....................................................... 31 3.5.1 Fishery Governance and Management Objectives ......................................................... 31 3.5.2 Management Measures .................................................................................................. 31 3.5.3 Compliance and Enforcement ......................................................................................... 32 3.5.4 Research .......................................................................................................................... 32 3.5.5 Monitoring and Management Performance Evaluation ................................................. 33 4 EVALUATION PROCEDURE ................................................................................... 34 4.1 Harmonised Fishery Assessment ................................................................................... 34 4.2 Previous Assessments (of the Stationary Trap Fishery) ................................................. 34 4.2.1 Initial Certification Cycle (2009-2015) ............................................................................. 34 4.2.2 Re-certification (2015) .................................................................................................... 36 4.2.3 Status as of First Annual Surveillance (2016) .................................................................. 37 4.3 Assessment Methodologies ........................................................................................... 38 4.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques ........................................................................... 38 4.4.1 Consultations ................................................................................................................... 39 4.4.2 Evaluation Techniques .................................................................................................... 41 5 TRACEABILITY .................................................................................................. 43 5.1 Eligibility Date ................................................................................................................. 43 5.2 Traceability within the Fishery ....................................................................................... 43 5.3 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ................................................................ 44 6 EVALUATION RESULTS ....................................................................................... 45 6.1 Principle Level Scores ..................................................................................................... 45 6.2 Summary of Scores ......................................................................................................... 45 6.2.1 Conditions ....................................................................................................................... 46 Version 1-0 (August 2015) | © SCS Global Services 6.3 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement ...................................................... 48 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX 1. SCORING AND SUPPORTING RATIONALE ..................................................... 55 Principle 1 .............................................................................................................................. 55 Principle 2 .............................................................................................................................. 55 Principle 3 .............................................................................................................................. 74 APPENDIX 2. CONDITIONS AND CLIENT ACTION PLAN ..................................................... 75 APPENDIX 3. PEER REVIEW REPORT ........................................................................... 86 APPENDIX 4. STAKEHOLDER SUBMISSIONS ................................................................... 93 APPENDIX 5. SURVEILLANCE FREQUENCY ..................................................................... 95 APPENDIX 6. CLIENT AGREEMENT .............................................................................. 96 APPENDIX 7. EXAMPLES OF 2016 PURSE SEINE FISHING LICENSES ..................................... 97 Version 1-0 (August 2015) | © SCS Global Services 4 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) expedited assessment of the Iturup pink and chum salmon purse seine fishery, undergoing assessment for expansion of scope of the currently certified Iturup pink and chum salmon (stationary trap) fishery. The assessment was conducted and the findings were prepared by SCS Global Services (SCS), an MSC-accredited, independent, third-party conformity assessment body, in accordance with the MSC Principles and Criteria for sustainable fishing. The assessment complies with the MSC Certification (process) Requirements V2.0 (October 2014). The expedited UoA has been assessed against the same assessment tree as the currently certified UoA: a modified version of the Default Assessment Tree found in FAM V21. Table 1. Unit of Assessment under Expedited Assessment Unit of Assessment Species and Stock Pacific chum salmon (O. keta), Pacific pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) Gear Type Purse seine Fleet Client group purse seine vessels licensed to operate in the fishing area leased to the client group off of Iturup Island, Russian Far East, managed by Sakhalin-Kuril territorial office of the Russian Federation Far East Fisheries Agency. Includes consideration of enhancement activities by client group. Client Group J.S.C. Gidrostroy2 The Iturup pink and chum salmon trap net fisheries were first certified as sustainable in September 2009 in accordance with the MSC Principles and Criteria by accredited certification assessment body, SCS Global Services (SCS). The fishery was re-certified in August of 2015, using the MSC process requirements current at the start of the re-assessment (MSC Certification Requirements v1.3, Jan 2013) and a modified default assessment tree based on FAM V2.01. In the spring of 2016, the client informed SCS that it was planning to introduce purse seining as a gear type in 2016 for use in its late-season chum salmon fishery. Purse seine gear is not included in the current certificate scope, which is limited to stationary traps. Therefore, a scope expansion was required. In accordance with MSC FCRV2.0 (7.22 & Annex PE), SCS first conducted a Gap Analysis to evaluate what Assessment Components and Performance Indicators would be held in common or require differential assessment via an Expedited Assessment. SCS submitted the results of the Gap Analysis, with the formal announcement of the Expedited Assessment, on August 9, 2016. These materials are available online: https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/iturup-island-pink-chum-salmon/@@assessments.