Acoura Marine Pulic Comment Draft Report Russia Barents Sea Red King Crab 1. MSC SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES CERTIFICATION Russia Barents Sea Red King Crab Image sourced from takuyamorihisa.com Public Comment Draft Report November 2017 Client Association of Crab Catchers of North Assessment conducted by: Gudrun Gaudian, John Tremblay, Geir Hønneland On behalf of Acoura Acoura Version V2.1 04/01/17 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Barents Sea Red King Crab Assessment Data Sheet CAB details Acoura Address 6 Redheughs Rigg Edinburgh EH12 9DQ Phone/Fax 0131 335 6662 Email [email protected] Contact name(s) Billy Hynes Association of Crab Catchers Client details of North Address 2 Turgenevskaya square 101000 Moscow Russia Phone/Fax +7 (8182) 42-18-65 Email [email protected] Contact name(s) Alexey Yakushin Assessment Team Team Leader & P2 Gudrun Gaudian, P1 Assessor John Tremblay P3 Assessor Geir Hønneland Page 1 of 186 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Barents Sea Red King Crab Contents Assessment Data Sheet .......................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 6 1 Authorship and Peer Reviewers...................................................................................................... 8 Assessment Team .................................................................................................................. 8 Peer Reviewers ............................................................................................................... 9 RBF Training ........................................................................................................................... 9 2 Description of the Fishery ............................................................................................................. 10 Unit(s) of Assessment (UoA) and Scope of Certification sought .......................................... 10 UoA and Proposed Unit of Certification (UoC) ...................................................................... 10 Final UoC(s) .......................................................................................................................... 10 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data ............................................................... 10 Scope of Assessment in relation to Introduced Species Based Fisheries (ISBF) ........ 11 Overview of the fishery .......................................................................................................... 12 Description of the gear and deployment ....................................................................... 15 Observer coverage ........................................................................................................ 15 Client group, list of vessels and market ........................................................................ 15 Principle One: Target Species Background .......................................................................... 17 Key Low Trophic Level (LTL) species? ......................................................................... 17 Fishery resource – Barents Sea Russian red king crab, biology and ecology ............. 17 Stock assessment, indicators, reference points and harvest control rule ..................... 21 History of fishing and management............................................................................... 28 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ............................................................................................. 32 The status of the Barents Sea ecosystem .................................................................... 32 Primary and Secondary Species ................................................................................... 40 Endangered, Threatened or Protected Species ............................................................ 46 Habitats ......................................................................................................................... 48 Principle Three: Management System Background.............................................................. 59 Jurisdiction .................................................................................................................... 59 Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 59 Legal basis and management set-up ............................................................................ 59 Stakeholders and consultation processes .................................................................... 60 Enforcement and compliance ........................................................................................ 60 Review of the management system .............................................................................. 61 3 Evaluation Procedure .................................................................................................................... 62 Harmonised Fishery Assessment ......................................................................................... 62 Previous assessments .......................................................................................................... 62 Assessment Methodologies .................................................................................................. 62 Evaluation Processes and Techniques ................................................................................. 62 Site Visits ....................................................................................................................... 62 Consultations ................................................................................................................. 63 Evaluation Techniques .................................................................................................. 63 4 Traceability .................................................................................................................................... 65 Page 2 of 186 Acoura Marine Full Assessment Template per MSC V2.0 02/12/2015 Acoura Marine Public Comment Draft Report Russia Barents Sea Red King Crab Eligibility Date ........................................................................................................................ 65 Traceability within the Fishery ............................................................................................... 65 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ....................................................................... 66 5 Evaluation Results ........................................................................................................................ 68 Principle Level Scores ........................................................................................................... 68 Summary of PI Level Scores ................................................................................................. 68 Summary of Conditions ......................................................................................................... 69 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 69 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement .............................................................. 69 References ............................................................................................................................................ 70 6 Appendices.................................................................................................................................... 78 Appendix 1 Scoring and Rationales ...................................................................................................... 78 Appendix 1.1 Performance Indicator Scores and Rationale ....................................................... 78 PI 1.1.1 Evaluation Table for Stock status .................................................................................... 78 PI 1.1.2 Evaluation Table for Stock rebuilding .............................................................................. 80 PI 1.2.1 Evaluation Table for Harvest strategy ............................................................................. 81 PI 1.2.2 Evaluation Table for Harvest control rules and tools ....................................................... 84 PI 1.2.3 Evaluation Table for Information and monitoring ............................................................. 86 PI 1.2.4 Evaluation Table for Assessment of stock status ............................................................ 89 PI 2.1.1 Evaluation Table – Primary species outcome ................................................................. 92 PI 2.1.2 Evaluation Table – Primary species management strategy ............................................ 94 PI 2.1.3 Evaluation Table – Primary species information ............................................................. 96 PI 2.2.1 Evaluation Table – Secondary species outcome ............................................................ 98 PI 2.2.2 Evaluation Table – Secondary species management strategy ..................................... 101 PI 2.2.3 Evaluation Table – Secondary species information .....................................................