Grant: Alliance Grants
Dalhousie University
$65,000.00
Advancing spatio-temporal stock assessment models to integrate high-resolution seafloor mapping data in order to achieve sustainable harvest strategies for Canadian shellfish
FY 2023-24
Summary
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).
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
571920-2022
Name nom
Flemming, Joanna JE
Department département
Mathematics and Statistics
Organization id
79
Institution établissement
Dalhousie University
Province en
Nova Scotia
Province fr
Nouvelle-Écosse
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2022
Award amount
65000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
203
Area of application group en
Natural resources (economic aspects)
Area of application group fr
Ressources naturelles (aspects économiques)
Area of application en
Commercial fisheries
Area of application fr
Pêche commerciale
Research subject code
3004
Research subject group en
Statistics and probability
Research subject group fr
Applied statistics
Research subject en
Statistique et probabilité
Research subject fr
Statistique appliquée
Application title
Advancing spatio-temporal stock assessment models to integrate high-resolution seafloor mapping data in order to achieve sustainable harvest strategies for Canadian shellfish
Keyword
Arctic surfclam; benthic ecology; harvest strategy processes; hierarchical GLMM frameworks; high-resolution environmental data; point-referenced data; seafloor mapping; spatio-temporal models; stock assessment models; sustainable fisheries
Application summary
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).
