Risk assessment of permitted human activities in Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia

The Government of Canada has committed to reaching domestic marine conservation targets (MCTs) of protecting 10% of Canada’s marine and coastal areas by 2020. One area of action that supports reaching Canada’s MCTs is the identification and advancement of ‘other effective area-based conservation mea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDFO - Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat. Research Document no. 2020/020
Main Authors Thornborough, K J, Lancaster, D, Dunham, J S, Yu, F, Ladell, N, Deleys, N, Yamanaka, L
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa Fisheries and Oceans Canada 01.01.2020
Subjects
Bycatch
Coastal waters
Commercial fishing
Continental shelves
Demersal fisheries
Ecosystem approach to fisheries
Feeding preferences
Fishery management
Fishing mortality
Habitats
Indigenous Peoples' fishing
Living resources
Man-induced effects
Marine
Protected areas
Protected species
Resource conservation
Risk management
Sebastidae
Slope environment
Sport fishing
Canada, British Columbia
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Summary:The Government of Canada has committed to reaching domestic marine conservation targets (MCTs) of protecting 10% of Canada’s marine and coastal areas by 2020. One area of action that supports reaching Canada’s MCTs is the identification and advancement of ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OEABCM). To determine whether Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) in Canada’s Pacific marine waters contribute to the MCTs as OEABCMs, RCAs were evaluated against the five criteria for inclusion as OEABCMs. The assessment was conducted on three significant ecosystem components: Inshore Rockfish, their Prey and Rocky Reef habitat, and the impact of twenty-one currently permitted activities. Future assessments at the scale of individual RCAs will provide clarity regarding the impacts of stressors in each RCA. Recommendations include: developing clear long-term conservation and/or stock management objectives; collecting empirical observations of habitat in RCAs; improving research and monitoring efforts to reduce uncertainties about activities with highest relative risks; and improving fishery monitoring and catch reporting of sectors fishing inside RCAs.
ISSN:1499-3848
2292-4272