WGC(01)16

Ad Hoc Management Programme for the 2001 Fishery at West Greenland

RECALLING that the Parties to the West Greenland Commission have previously agreed to regulatory measures for the West Greenland fishery based on the scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES);

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT NASCO’s and, in particular, the West Greenland Commission’s commitment to implement the Precautionary Approach;

NOTING that the advice from ICES forecasts that pre- fishery abundance of North American stocks for the 2001 fishery has increased to 295,700 fish, but that this forecast is considered by ICES to be highly uncertain;

FURTHER NOTING that ICES has established conservation limits for all North American stocks occurring in the West Greenland Commission area that totals 170,286 fish at West Greenland and that the scientific advice from ICES also considers this stock complex to be outside safe biological limits;

FURTHER NOTING that ICES has indicated that the assessment of the stocks of MSW salmon from Southern Europe shows that these stocks have been consistently below their conservation limit for several years;

FURTHER NOTING that there appears to be a relationship between catch per unit effort (CPUE), measured by the average daily landings in kilograms per licensed fisherman in West Greenland, and pre-fishery abundance of North American stocks, that can be used to corroborate, in a timely manner, the ICES forecasts;

THE PARTIES:

For the purpose of this paper, high CPUE is greater than 135 kg per licence per day on average, medium CPUE is from 100 to 135 kg per licence per day on average and low CPUE is below 100 kg per licence per day on average. Average CPUE should be based upon data from NAFO Divisions 1A to 1F to the extent possible.

For the 2001 fishery at West Greenland, an ad hoc management programme utilising data collected during the fishing season will be implemented as follows:

1. Three harvest periods will be established, which will be separated by two-day closures to allow for the estimation of CPUE statistics and communication of management actions. The start of the first harvest period will be no sooner than 13 August as determined by the Greenland Home Rule Government and remain open for seven days, or until 28 tonnes of salmon, whichever comes first, are taken in the commercial fishery. The information on average CPUE from this first harvest period will determine if a second harvest period will be opened and the additional quota available during the second period. The second harvest period will begin two days after the seven-day first period concludes.

If average CPUE is high in the first period, the second opening will occur. This fishery will close after either 12 days or an additional 64 tonnes are taken, whichever comes first. If average CPUE in the first period is medium, an additional 12-day 32-tonne fishery will open. This fishery will close after either 12 days or an additional 32 tonnes are taken, whichever comes first, and if average CPUE is low, no second opening will occur. Similarly, if the combined average CPUE for the first and second opening is high, a third opening will occur, which will begin two days after the twelve-day second period concludes. This fishery will close after either 26 days or an additional 108 tonnes are taken, whichever comes first. If this average is medium, an additional 26-day 54-tonne fishery will be allowed. If the average is low, there will be no additional opening.

The quotas for each period will be cumulative such that any over-utilisation or underutilisation in one period will be added or subtracted to the next open period, if any. The various management actions in response to data collected during the fishery are given in Annex 1.

The maximum quota for the fishery as a whole will depend on the observed average CPUE during the fishery. This means that if the average is high (consistent with a high level of pre- fishery abundance), a 200-tonne fishery will be possible. This corresponds to the 50% risk level estimated by ICES. If, however, the average is moderate (consistent with a medium pre- fishery abundance level), a 92-tonne fishery will be possible. This corresponds to the 35% risk level estimated by ICES. If the average CPUE is low (consistent with a low pre-fishery abundance), only a 28-tonne fishery will be possible. This corresponds to the 25% risk level estimated by ICES.

2. The Greenland Home Rule Government will monitor the fishery closely; ensure that licensees’ fishing techniques and practice are consistent with those of recent years; and make the data available to all Parties during and after the fishery. The other Contracting Parties will assist with an increased level of biological sampling, as agreed in document WGC(01)14, to provide improved information for scientific analysis and management advice.

Table 1. Quota available during each harvest period depending on observed CPUE in the previous period. Period 1 is expected to be 13 to 19 August or beginning after August 13 as determined by the Greenland Home Rule Government. Period 2 will be 21 August 21 to 2 September or beginning two days after Period 1 closes. Period 3 will be 4 to 30 September or beginning two days after Period 2 closes.

Table 2. Total quota available given various combinations of in-season observations and the corresponding estimated probability of not achieving the combined North American conservation limits.