Modeling the Effect of Changing Fishing Effort and Bycatch Reduction Technology on Risk to Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) from Bycatch Mortality in the Ocean Shrimp (Pandalus jordani) Trawl Fishery, Information Report 2016-02

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: Hannah, Robert W.

Publish Date: 2016

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

Contact Information

Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Name: Cedric Cooney

Job Position: Natural Resources Data and Systems Manager

Telephone: 503-947-6094

E-Mail Address: cedric.x.cooney@odfw.oregon.gov

Description

Abstract: This report describes methods and results from an updated fishery modeling effort directed at evaluating the population risk to eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) from bycatch mortality in the ocean shrimp trawl (Pandalus jordani) fishery. The eulachon is an anadromous smelt species inhabiting the Pacific coasts of the U.S. and Canada that has been listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA, Gustafson et al. 2012). Specifically, the southern “distinct population segment” (SDPS) of eulachon has been determined to be both a species, as defined by the ESA, and at some risk of extinction over the next 100 years (Gustafson et al. 2012). The SDPS is comprised of river runs ranging from northern California to the Nass River in northern British Columbia (Gustafson et al. 2012). The determination that SDPS eulachon are “threatened” is based primarily on historically reduced in-river spawning runs that are also highly variable from year to year (Gustafson et al. 2012). Moreover, the factors causing the declines in the abundance of SDPS eulachon are not well understood. Bycatch in the ocean shrimp trawl fishery, climate change, changes in the abundance and distribution of predator populations, and changes in the timing of peak river flows due to dams and water diversions have all been identified as potential contributors (NMFS 2010). Although the status of eulachon has been determined mostly from in-river catches and spawning runs, eulachon are primarily a marine fish, spending most of their lives in the ocean (Hay and McCarter 2000).

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Geographic Extent: U.S. waters

Status: Final

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Format: PDF

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