Advancing spatio-temporal stock assessment models to integrate high-resolution seafloor mapping data in order to achieve sustainable harvest strategies for Canadian shellfish

海洋是加拿大文化、环境、公共卫生和经济不可分割的一部分。海洋经济雇用了超过31.5万加拿大人，每年贡献超过260亿美元的国内生产总值(GDP)。大西洋加拿大的商业渔业主要由底栖贝类建立，2019年价值超过30亿美元。将空间信息纳入对这些贝类种群的评估和管理中的重要性早已得到承认。由于与底物类型有很强的相关性，海底生境图可以相对较好地反映底栖贝类种群的密度分布。这些地图与地理空间渔业数据相结合，极有可能增进我们对贝类种群动态和对捕捞反应的空间格局和复杂性的了解。Clearwater Seafoods(Clearwater)、E‘sukutimkewey和加拿大渔业和海洋组织(DFO)之间的这一伙伴关系的目标是：(A)开发将高分辨率数据流纳入下一代时空种群评估模型所需的统计框架和辅助软件；(B)通过纳入关于恢复和其他相关过程的时空变异性的新知识，为底栖贝类(和其他)物种制定更可持续的捕捞战略。这一伙伴关系将产生以下成果和影响：1)将高分辨率环境数据充分纳入种群评估模型和相关的捕捞战略进程；2)对可持续清除水平的设定更有信心；3)更好地理解如何实施基于生态系统的轮流捕捞战略；4)向加拿大各地的种群评估科学家和渔业管理者转让知识和技术。这将直接促进《渔业法》新的鱼类种群条款(正式C-68号法案)对渔业科学的额外需求。

The ocean is an integral part of Canada's culture, environment, public health and economy. The ocean economy employs more than 315,000 Canadians and contributes more than $26 billion of gross domestic product (GDP) each year. Atlantic Canada's commercial fishery is built primarily from benthic shellfish, valued at over $3 billion in 2019. The importance of incorporating spatial information into the assessment and management of these shellfish populations has long been recognized. Due to the strong association with substrate type, density distributions of benthic shellfish stocks can be relatively well represented by seafloor habitat maps. These maps, combined with geospatial fisheries data, have tremendous potential to improve our understanding of the spatial patterns and complexities of shellfish population dynamics and responses to fishing. The goals of this partnership between Clearwater Seafoods (Clearwater), E'sukutimkewey, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are to: A) develop the statistical framework and supporting software needed to integrate high-resolution data streams into the next generation of spatio-temporal stock assessment models; and B) devise more sustainable harvest strategies for benthic shellfish (and other) species by incorporating new knowledge of spatio-temporal variability in recovery and other relevant processes. Using Arctic surfclam (Mactromeris polynyma) as a case study, this partnership will give rise to the following outcomes and impacts: 1) full integration of high-resolution environmental data into stock assessment models and associated harvest strategy processes; 2) greater confidence in the setting of sustainable removal levels; 3) better understanding of how ecosystem-based rotational fishing strategies can be implemented; and 4) knowledge- and technology-transfer to stock assessment scientists and fisheries managers across Canada. This will directly contribute to the additional demands for fisheries science under the new Fish Stocks Provisions of the Fisheries Act (Formally Bill C-68).