Our Committment to Science
The Canadian Sablefish Association is making concrete investments in scientific research to protect the Sablefish resource and BC’s Sablefish fishery. To us, sustainable use requires research focused on a highly strategic management approach. This places the Canadian Sablefish Association among the world leaders in sustainable fisheries management. A few highlights of Canadian Sablefish Association’s commitment to research and sustainability include:
- Funding and conducting coastwide stock assessment and research surveys since 1991.
- Funding and conducting an ongoing tag release-recovery program (over 150,000 fish tagged) that provide information on Sablefish movement and gear selectivity for stock assessment.
- Leading stock assessments to characterize the status of Sablefish in BC.
- Leading a management strategy evaluation process since 2006 aimed at implementing robust procedures for setting annual catch limits consistent with sustainable use objectives.
- Funding research aimed at assessing interactions of longline trap gear with seafloor ecosystems.
- Funding ecosystem-based management research that recognizes the multi-gear, multi-species nature of BC’s integrated groundfish fishery.
- All our work on harvest advice is peer-reviewed by the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS).
- Our research on management strategy evaluation and gear interactions with fish habitat is published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
We partner with Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists and managers and private sector fisheries science experts to maintain a high standard of fisheries science and management advice.
Research and Stock Assessment Survey
Annual surveys of BC Sablefish are conducted by commercial vessels chartered by the CSA. Working collaboratively with scientific technicians from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we deploy standardized longline trap gear at over 100 locations in specified areas and depths along the entire BC outer coast every year. The surveys gather Sablefish stock abundance data and biological information such as fish size, sex, maturity and age. Sablefish are tagged for release and subsequent recapture in various commercial fisheries in Canada and the United States. Tag returns provide information on fish movement and fishing gear selectivity. Various scientific devices are deployed on survey sets including accelerometers for measuring gear movement, temperature-depth probes, and autonomous deep-sea cameras used to record video of the habitat encountered by the survey gear. The survey requires between 35 and 40 days to complete each October and November.
Sablefish surveys results are published as part of the Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences series:
Lacko, L.C., Acheson, S.M. and Holt, K.R. 2023. Summary of the annual 2021 Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) trap survey, October 6 – November 21, 2021. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3530: vii + 48 p.
Management Strategy Evaluation
Our leading Sablefish Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) process consists of:
- Setting or modifying fishery objectives in response to policy requirements, desired stock conditions, and socio-economic goals.
- Proposing different methods, called management procedures, for calculating an annual Sablefish catch limit.
- Testing the expected performance of the proposed management procedures over a range of uncertain present, and future, stock and fishery dynamics using computer simulation models, and
- Selecting one management procedure for annual application to the actual fishery.
The purpose of computer simulation testing is to check that applying the preferred management procedure will not lead to major problems, even if key scientific assumptions about the Sablefish resource (e.g., biomass, productivity) and fishery (e.g., gear selectivity, discard monitoring precision) are incorrect.
The Sablefish management procedure helps to establish a feedback link between current management actions and future stock responses. It does this by reducing fishing pressure to encourage population growth when Sablefish abundance declines and by allowing fishing opportunity when Sablefish abundance increases.
Fisheries Policy Compliance
Canada, like many other jurisdictions, advocates management by reference points in its precautionary approach fishery decision-making policy. Canada’s so-called “Fishery Decision-Making Framework Incorporating the Precautionary Approach” that three core requirements:
- Reference points and stock status zones (Healthy, Cautious and Critical).
- Harvest strategy and harvest decision rules.
- The need to take into account uncertainty and risk when developing reference points and developing and implementing decision rules.
The Sablefish management system incorporates a limit reference point (LRP) and target reference point (TRP) within specific fishery objectives that guide selection of management actions. An LRP can be a minimum level of spawning biomass that should not be breached, or a fishing mortality rate that should not be exceeded to avoid undesirable outcomes for the stock and fishery. Target reference points indicate desirable states expected to provide ecosystem, economic, and socio-cultural economic benefits. For Sablefish, requirement (1) of the PA Policy is met by characterizing stock status relative to fractions of the spawning biomass at maximum sustainable yield, BMSY.
The Sablefish management procedure is synonymous with a harvest decision rule. The selection of management procedure is guided by how closely a set of conservation and yield objectives is satisfied, and therefore meets requirement (2) of the PA Policy.
Finally, testing of management procedure performance under a variety of simulated stock and fishery conditions means that uncertainty is considered before a particular choice of management procedure is applied to the actual fishery. This process eliminates management options that are unlikely to work in practice, thereby closing the gap between precautionary fisheries management in theory, and precautionary management in practice.
Sablefish Stock Status
Stock status for BC Sablefish is characterized relative to fishery reference points related to the spawning biomass at maximum sustainable yield, or BMSY. We also evaluate the harvest rate relative to the harvest rate at maximum sustainable yield, or UMSY. Stock status was last evaluated in 2022 and reviewed by the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat. In summary, there is a high probability that BC Sablefish was above the target biomass of BMSY in 2022 (about 1.3 times BMSY) and that the harvest rate in 2021 was below UMSY (about 70% of UMSY). DFO has reported that the abundance of BC Sablefish is in the “Healthy Zone” using the criteria in Canada’s precautionary approach harvest policy.
Longline Gear Interaction with Fish Habitat
Sablefish harvesters understand that habitat forming species like corals and sponge are necessary for functioning marine ecosystems and sustainable fisheries. That’s why the CSA supports research to identify and improve management measures to reduce fishery impacts on fish habitat. In 2010 the CSA, through Wild Canadian Sablefish Ltd., joined with Simon Fraser University researchers and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO Pacific Region) to design, build, and deploy an autonomous video camera and motion-sensing system capable of operating at extreme depths of 200–1800 m where Sablefish occur. The camera system, along with accelerometers and depth sensors, have been deployed annually on selected commercial fishing trips and on the annual stratified random, fishery-independent Sablefish trap-gear survey that is jointly funded by WCS and DFO.
source: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0483
Video from the cameras is interpreted to identify the presence and absence of habitat forming species such as cold-water corals (Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, Pennatulacea, Stylasteridae) and sponges (Hexactinellida, Demospongiae). The resulting data are used to build species distribution models which aim to predict the location of corals and sponges and improve information for fisheries management and marine-use planning.
Research by the CSA and Landmark Fisheries Research Ltd. has shown that:
- Sablefish traps are stationary once the gear has settled on the bottom.
- Groundlines used by trap gear float and do not contact the bottom.
- There is more trap bottom contact and gear movement at shallower depths. Other factors (e.g. trap position, weather, vessel) may also affect trap bottom contact.
- Circular Sablefish traps are pulled along their sides during retrieval, limiting their footprint in comparison to rectangular traps of the same width.
- Habitat mapping using presence-only data can produce biased species distribution predictions, but most marine protected area planning is based on presence-only data from fisheries observations (e.g., trawl bycatch observations). Trap cameras provide fine-scale presence-absence observations of deep-sea corals and sponges needed for unbiased species distribution predictions and risk assessment.
- Collaborative research surveys with commercial fisheries provide an alternative to dedicated research vessels (e.g., ROVs, submersibles) for mapping bottom habitats that is scalable for large and remote areas where fisheries operate.
- There are limited data to inform coral or sponge population dynamics (e.g., growth rates, recovery, and damage rates from fishing gear).
- There are no examples of quantitative targets for coral or sponge conservation thresholds, but we can adopt the same approaches that are used for fish species to apply the DFO Precautionary Approach risk assessment policy.
Trap Camera Deployments
Current Research – moving towards the future
Management strategy evaluation for bottom contact fisheries with assessments of sensitive benthic habitats (June 2022-March 2026)
We are extending our research on longline trap gear interactions with benthic habitat using data from our novel deep-sea autonomous cameras. This work is supported by a contribution agreement funded jointly by DFO, the Government of British Columbia, and the CSA via the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.
We aim to develop and demonstrate an innovative adaptive management approach to improving sustainable fishing practices for bottom contact fisheries that includes:
- An integrated system of data capture technology for Sensitive Benthic Areas (SBAs).
- In-situ monitoring and estimation methods to quantify bottom contact from fishing gear.
- Presence-absence modelling to map SBAs.
- Risk assessment for quantifying bottom fishing impacts on SBAs and spatial assessment of conservation status, and
- A simulation framework for evaluating fishing impacts on SBAs and their recovery trajectories under alternative management approaches.
This project will demonstrate how collaborative research partnerships with bottom-contact fisheries can provide fine-scale presence-absence observations of deep-sea habitats and measurements of fishing gear bottom contact over the large spatial scales needed for effective mapping, management, and risk assessment of sensitive benthic areas. This project is organized into five Phases:
Phase 1
June 2023 – March 2024
Goal
Generate reliable bottom-contact estimates for Sablefish fishing gear that can be used for risk assessment.
Activities
- Process accelerometer, depth sensor, and video data from 2018-2022 surveys.
- Apply gear movement classification algorithm to 2018-2022 data and quantify relative error rates for bottom contact estimates.
- Update models investigating the effects of set depth and trap retrieval order on gear movement.
- Estimate annual bottom contact from Sablefish fishing gear and produce time series showing the proportion of BC waters contacted by Sablefish longline trap and hook gear.
- Estimate total footprint area with different frequencies of gear contact (e.g., at least once, two times, three times, etc.)
- Develop different scenarios for trap contact width for commonly encountered coral or sponge species in Sablefish fishing areas.
Benefits
- Provides key input required to estimate mortality of coral/sponge taxa from gear contact and assess population status for phase 3 risk assessment.
- Quantitative measures of fishery contact with the seafloor that can inform compliance with DFO policies, eco-certification requirements, and marine planning.
- Our data allows evaluation of factors that can decrease gear bottom contact, which can inform strategies or experimentation by the Sablefish fishery to reduce gear interaction with habitat.
Phase 2
April 2024 – March 2025
Goal
Generate high resolution species distribution models suitable for risk assessment of sensitive benthic taxa in coastal Sablefish fishing grounds.
Activities
- Develop presence-absence habitat models to predict sensitive benthic habitat (corals, sponges, sea whips) distribution and density in Sablefish fishing grounds (200-1400 m depths) over the BC continental shelf and slope.
- Calculate the proportion of sensitive benthic habitats that occur within current and proposed spatial closures for bottom-contact fisheries.
Benefits
- Provides key input required to accurately map coral/sponge abundance in fishing grounds for risk assessment in project Phase 3.
- More accurate maps of sensitive benthic habitats that can inform management practices and marine zoning.
- Metrics to evaluate suitability of currently proposed MPAs for coral/sponge conservation.
- Identify locations with high uncertainty to inform new sampling programs.
Phase 3
April 2024 – March 2025
Goal
Develop a risk assessment for quantifying bottom fishing impacts on sensitive benthic habitats and spatial assessments of conservation status.
Activities
- A novel benthic habitat assessment providing spatially-explicit understanding of the historical impacts of bottom longline Sablefish trap fishing and current habitat status.
- New sampling designs aimed at reducing uncertainty in risk assessments due to mis-specified habitat mapping.
Benefits
- Demonstrates quantitative framework for risk assessment of sensitive benthic habitats that can be used to inform measurable conservation objectives and evaluate alternative strategies via simulation-based Management Strategy Evaluation.
- Quantitative spatial assessment of population status for sensitive benthic taxa that can inform compliance with DFO policies, eco-certification requirements, and marine planning.
- Identify areas of high risk and inform management strategies for simulation testing.
Phase 4
April 2025 – March 2026
Goal
Develop a novel simulation framework for testing alternative management strategies for sensitive benthic habitat (SBH) conservation, data collection, and mapping.
Activities
- Identify management strategies for the coastal Sablefish fishery for simulation testing, including i) SBH data collection, ii) SBH assessments, and iii) SBH mitigation measures in the form of gear and/or spatial restrictions where necessary.
- SBH management strategy evaluation that simulates future i) fishing impacts and habitat recovery, ii) SBH data collection and assessment, and iii) adaptive management for coastal Sablefish fishery.
- Generate performance metrics for candidate conservation and socio-economic objectives to allow evaluation of trade-offs between ecological and fishery goals for alternative management strategies.
Benefits
- Demonstrates applied approach to ecosystem-based management
- Evaluate performance of candidate management strategies for Sablefish fishery across multiple axes of sustainability (e.g. Habitat, Sablefish biomass).
- Evaluation of trade-offs between ecological and fishery goals for alternative management strategies.
- Identifies spatial trade-offs for benthic habitat conservation (e.g., few areas at pristine levels or many areas lightly fished).
- Estimates the effects of shifting fishing effort outside of area closures.
Phase 5
April 2025 – March 2026
Goal
Develop a technical specifications document for a 2nd-generation camera system suitable to all bottom contact fishing gear and deployment situations. Specifications will include both deep-water and shallow-water versions; the latter may control costs and encourage wider adoption for both research and fishery applications.
Activities
- Summarize relevant fishery characteristics (e.g., gear type, gear deployment/retrieval behavior, fishing depths, soak time) for BC bottom-contact fisheries and necessary specifications for the camera system.
- Interview members of BC bottom-contact fishery associations to identify utility of different camera features (e.g., size, weight, durability, mounting options on fishing gear).
- Evaluate feasibility and costs for additional features that will increase use, durability, and utility of camera system at-sea.
Benefits
- Specifications for new design that could be:
- developed at scale with potentially lower cost per unit.
- more compact and easier to use.
- widely adopted for bottom contact fisheries.
- Potential for deployment and data collection on massive scale, by which fisheries participate and inform science.
- Map deep-sea communities and estimate fishing risks.
- Other deep-sea research applications may be:
- Environmental data.
- In-situ observations of species behaviour.
Scientific References (expand to view list)
Scientific References
Published work on the Sablefish Management Strategy Evaluation, including stock status and application of the Sablefish management procedure can be found here:
CSAS Science Advisory Reports and Science Reponses
DFO. 2023. Application of the British Columbia Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) management
procedure for the 2023-24 fishing year. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2023/009.
https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ScR-RS/2023/2023_009-eng.html
DFO. 2023. A revised operating model for Sablefish in British Columbia in 2022. DFO Can.
Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2023/010. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2023/2023_010-eng.html
DFO. 2020. Evaluating the robustness of candidate management procedures in the BC Sablefsh (Anoplopoma fimbria) fishery for 2019-2020. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2020/025. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ScR-RS/2020/2020_025-eng.html
DFO. 2017. Evaluating the robustness of management procedures for the Sablefish
(Anoplopoma fimbria) fishery in British Columbia, Canada for 2017-18. DFO Can. Sci. Advis.
Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2017/017. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2017/2017_017-eng.html
DFO. 2016. A revised operating model for Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) in British Columbia, Canada. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2016/015. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_015-eng.html
Primary Literature
Cox, S.P., Kronlund, A.R., and Benson, A.J. 2013. The roles of biological reference points and operational control points in management procedures for the Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fishery in British Columbia, Canada. Environmental Conservation 40: 318–328.
Cox, S.P., and Kronlund, A.R. 2008. Practical stakeholder-driven harvest policies for groundfish fisheries in British Columbia, Canada. Fisheries Research 94: 224–237.
CSAS Research Documents
Johnson, S.D.N., Cox, S.P., Holt, K.R., Lacko, L.C., Kronlund, A.R. and Rooper, C.N. 2023. Stock status and management procedure performance for the BC Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fishery for 2022/23. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2022/nnn. iv + 137 p. In publication.
Cox, S.P., Kronlund, A.R., Lacko, L., and Jones, M. 2023. A revised operating model for
Sablefish in British Columbia, Canada in 2016. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc.
2023/023. vii + 127 p. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2023/2023_023-eng.html
Cox, S., Holt, K., Johnson, S. 2019. Evaluating the robustness of management procedures for
the Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fishery in British Columbia, Canada for 2017-18. DFO
Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/032. vi + 79 p. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2019/2019_032-eng.html
Gear Interactions with Habitat
Doherty, B. Cox, S.P., Rooper, C.N., and Kronlund, A.R. 2021. Species distribution models for deep-water coral habitats that account for spatial uncertainty in trap-camera fishery data. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 660. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13564
Doherty, B., Johnson, S.D.N. and Cox, S.P. 2018. Using autonomous video to estimate the bottom-contact area of longline trap gear and presence–absence of sensitive benthic habitat. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.75:797–812. dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0483
Doherty, B., and Cox, S. 2017. Data summary of trap camera video obtained during Sablefish bottom longline trap fishing at SGaan Kinghlas – Bowie Seamount, 2014–2015. Can. Dat. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1276. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
