WGC(02)13

Ad hoc Management Programme for the 2002 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 Greenla nd Commission’s commitment to implement the Precautionary Approach;

ACKNOWLEDGING that there will continue to be a subsistence fishery at West Greenland;

NOTING that the advice from ICES forecasts that pre-fishery abundance of North American stocks for the 2002 fishery is 329,552 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 total 212,189 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 close to or 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 both North American and Southern European stocks, that can be used to corroborate, in a timely manner, the ICES forecasts;

THE PARTIES:

- Resolve for 2002 to maintain the spirit embodied in previous agreements within the West Greenland Commission.

- Recognise the need to reduce the consequences of uncertainty in the forecast pre-fishery abundance and improve the information available for management.

- Recognise the need to take account of the status of stocks of not only North American but also Southern European origin.

- Seek to enhance biological sampling of salmon during the fishery to improve scientific information for management.

For the purpose of this paper, “high” commercial CPUE is greater than 126 kg per licence per day on average, “medium” commercial CPUE is from 99 to 126 kg per licence per day on average and “low” commercial CPUE is below 99 kg per licence per day on average.

Average commercial CPUE should be based upon data from NAFO Divisions 1A to 1F to the extent possible.

For the 2002 fishery at West Greenland, an ad hoc management programme utilising data collected during the fishing season will be implemented as follows:

1. Two harvest periods will be established, separated by a two-day closure to allow for the estimation of commercial CPUE statistics and communication of management actions. The first harvest period will start no sooner than 12 August, as determined by the Greenland Home Rule Government, and will remain open for 2 weeks, or until 20 tonnes of salmon are taken in the commercial fishery, whichever comes first. The information on average commercial 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.

2. If average commercial CPUE is “high” in the first period, an additional 35 tonnes quota will be allocated. If average CPUE in the first period is “medium”, an additional 18 tonnes quota will be allocated. If average CPUE in the first period is “low”, the commercial fishery will be closed.

3. The second harvest period will begin 2 days after the conclusion of the first harvest period and will be limited to a maximum of 5 weeks or until the additional quota is caught.

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

5. The maximum quota for the fishery as a whole will depend on the observed average commercial CPUE during the fishery. This means that if the average is “high” during the first harvest period (consistent with a high level of pre-fishery abundance), a 55 tonne fishery will be possible. If the average is “medium” (consistent with a moderate pre-fishery abundance level), a 38 tonne fishery will be possible. If the average commercial CPUE is “low” (consistent with a low pre- fishery abundance), only a 20 tonne fishery will be possible.

6. 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 biological sampling, as agreed in document WGC(02)14, to provide improved information for scientific analysis and management advice.

Table: Quota available during each harvest period depending on observed commercial CPUE in the previous period. Period 1 is expected to be 12 to 23 August or beginning after August 12 as determined by the Greenland Home Rule Government for a period of 2 weeks. Period 2 will be 26 August to 27 September or a period of 5 weeks beginning two days after Period 1 closes.