FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 41 



Herring In designing pre-season plans for the herring 

 fishery, the Department's scientists predict the abun- 

 dance of incoming herring runs and suggest catch levels 

 and targets for spawning stocks. The catch levels are 

 often reduced by the management officials before being 

 published in the Roe-Herring Management Plan set out 

 in the annual Commercial Fishing Guide. Anticipated 

 catches are shown separately for each of the three licens- 

 ing zones (but not for the 34 individual management 

 areas within those zones.) The management plan also 

 indicates the Department's intentions regarding the divi- 

 sion of the catch between the seine and gillnet fleets and 

 the basis on which notices will be given for openings and 

 closures in each gear type. 



Until the basis for predicting the abundance of herring 

 is improved, the pre-season plan must remain very tenta- 

 tive. It is nevertheless critically important because the 

 anticipated catch levels become, in effect, upper limits on 

 the permitted catch. Field managers often constrain 

 catches below the anticipated levels during a season, but 

 they are usually very reluctant to allow catches to e.xceed 

 them, closing the fishery once they have been attained 

 even though they are often less than the catches initially 

 recommended by the scientific staff. 



Other species The Department's provisions for pre- 

 season planning for the groundfish fishery provide a 

 model for other fisheries. Scientists prepare a biennial 

 publication (with updatings in the intervening years) con- 

 taining assessments of the groundfish stocks and recom- 

 mendations for management. This document is reviewed 

 by Departmental administrators who then prepare a draft 

 fishing plan. The scientific assessments and the draft 

 fishing plans are reviewed at public meetings in Prince 

 Rupert and Vancouver, and with the Groundfish .-Xdvi- 

 sory Committee. Following these consultations, the 

 Department publishes a final Pacific Groundfish Man- 

 agement Plan m the Commercial Fishing Guide, and this 

 becomes the basis for regulation in the ensuing season. 



Improving pre-season planning The Department's new 



effort to provide advance guidance to managers and 

 fishermen about fishing expectations through the pub- 

 lished fishing guide is commendable. However, for the 

 salmon and herring fisheries particularly, pre-season 

 planning suffers from two weaknesses that warrant atten- 

 tion. One is the vagueness of the plans. They are at best 

 only rough indications of what can be expected in the 

 .season ahead. This is because of the poor biological data 

 on which the predictions are based, a problem I return to 

 in Chapter 6. 



The other is the narrowness of criteria considered in 

 formulating plans. In Chapter 6 I explain that biologists, 

 in preparing stock assessments for planning purposes, 

 present only a single recommendation about fishing strat- 

 egy and thereby pre-empt the final decisions. Instead, 



they should analyze alternatives, so that senior adminis- 

 trators can select plans that take account of factors other 

 than biolog\'. 



Thus I recommend — 



5. Pre-season planning should be based on an examina- 

 tion of alternative management strategies prepared in 

 the course of the amiiial scientific assessment of the 

 stocks. 



In-Season Management 



The field forces of the Department, coordinated 

 through the central office in Vancouser, are responsible 

 for implementing the annual plans and regulating the 

 fisheries during the fishing season. In-season manage- 

 ment involves monitoring the fisheries and making 

 appropriate changes in fishing plans. For the salmon and 

 roe-herring fisheries, this presents especially formidable 

 challenges. 



Sainton In-season management for the salmon fishery 

 involves momtonng the passage of the runs through the 

 fisheries and altering the fishing patterns as required 

 when runs deviate from predicted patterns. Openings and 

 closures are manipulated by area and gear, and final 

 adjustments are made by regulating the catch of the last, 

 most inshore, fishing activity. 



Managers conduct daily reviews of catches and the 

 number, type and distribution of fishing vessels. Incom- 

 ing information is analyzed with reference to three basic 

 questions: whether the stock size is the same as pre- 

 dicted: whether the timing of the run is as predicted; and 

 whether the catching efficiency of the fleet is consistent 

 with expectations.' 



These questions give rise to difficulties in practice. The 

 magnitude of runs, even in relative terms, cannot usually 

 be assessed until the fish actually enter the fishery, and 

 variations in timing and migratory patterns create major 

 assessment problems. To determine whether or not the 

 regulations are achieving their objectives, assessments are 

 made of escapements as well. In many areas this involves 

 estimating the number of salmon reaching the spawning 

 grounds; but, in some cases, earlier information is 

 needed, and estimates are made of the fish leaving the 

 fishing area. 



If the fishery is progressing as predicted in pre-season 

 plans, little or no change will be made. However, when 

 conditions var\ significantly from those predicted before 

 the season, managers take remedial action by varying the 

 days or hours of fishing. This indicates the importance of 

 pre-season planning. 



Depending on the importance of needed changes in 

 fishing plans, final decisions may be made by the Area 



