snow crab surveys in nafo division 2j north · the fishing season in 2j north is from june 15 to...

Snow Crab Surveys in NAFO division 2J North Boudreau, S., Snook J., and J. Whalen Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat, 217 Hamilton River Rd., P.O. Box 2050 Stn. B Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL A0P 1E0 2012 Torngat Joint Fisheries Board Torngat Wildlife, Plants & Fisheries Secretariat Series 2012-02

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Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat The primary responsibilities of the Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-management Board and the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board are to establish total allowable harvests for non-migratory species of wildlife and for plants, recommend conservation and management measures for wildlife, plants, and habitat in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area (LISA) and to make recommendations in relation to the conservation of species, stocks of fish, aquatic plants, fish habitat, and the management of fisheries in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area. The Secretariat is the implementation agent of the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board and the Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-Management Board. The Secretariat is a team of professionals based in Happy Valley-Goose Bay that provide financial management, logistical, project management and analytical support to both boards.

Torngat Omajunik, Piguttunik Oganniaganillu Suliangit Suliagigumajangit Torngat Omajunik, Piguttunillu AulatsiKatigengita AngajukKauKatigengit ammalu Torngat Ikajuttiget Oganniatuligijingita AngajukKauKatigengit sakKititsigiamut pijaugunnatunik katillugit aullaigatsatagiamut nokataKattangitunik omajunik ammalu piguttunik, uKautjigiajut asikKitailigiamut ammalu aulatsigiamut omajunik, piguttunik, ammalu inigiKattajanginnik Labradorimi Inuit Satusasimajanginni Nunani (LISA) ammalu uKautjigiagutinik ilingajunik asikKitailigiamut omajunik, oganniaganik, piguttunik, oganik, ammalu aulatsigiamut oganniaganik Labradorimi Inuit Satusasimajanginni Nunani. SuliaKattet atuliaKititsigumajut kiggatuttinganik Torngat Ikajuttiget Oganniatuligijingita AngajukKauKatigenginnik ammalu Torngat Omajuligijinginnik Piguttunillu AulatsiKattajut AngajukKauKatigenginnik, sunatuinnanik, suliatsanik aulatsigiamut ammalu ikajutsitaullutik tamâginnut angajukKauKatigenut.

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Torngat Wildlife, Plants & Fisheries Secretariat Series

2012

Snow Crab Surveys in NAFO division 2J North

Boudreau, S., Snook J., and J. Whalen

Torngat Wildlife Plants and Fisheries Secretariat

P.O. Box 2050 Station B, Happy Valley-Goose bay, NL

A0P 1E0

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Published by: Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat

217 Hamilton River Rd., P.O. Box 2050 Stn. B Happy Valley-Goose bay, NL

A0P 1E0

Correct citation for this publication: Boudreau, S., Snook J., and J. Whalen (2012). Snow Crab Surveys in NAFO division 2J North. Torngat Wildlife, Plants & Fisheries Secretariat Ser. 2012-02 + 91 p

Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1

Objective of Nunatsiavut Snow Crab Survey .................................................................................... 8 METHODS .................................................................................................................... 9

Collaborative Snow Crab Surveys ....................................................................................................... 9 Study Areas ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Snow Crab Small Mesh Pot Program ................................................................................................ 11 Snow Crab Tagging Program ............................................................................................................. 14 Data Summaries and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 17

RESULTS ....................................................................................................................17 Sampled Area ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Small Mesh Pot Survey ....................................................................................................................... 19 Temperature ......................................................................................................................................... 43 Bycatch .................................................................................................................................................. 46

DISCUSSION ..............................................................................................................54 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................60 CONCLUSIONS ..........................................................................................................62 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................63 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................64 Appendix A: Latitude and longitude of sampled sets. .......................................................69 Appendix B: Images of crab with irregularities .................................................................71 Appendix C: ................................................................................................................75 Appendix D: ................................................................................................................76 Annotated Bibliography ................................................................................................77

List of Figures Figure 1: Life cycle of snow crab .............................................................................................................. 4 Figure 2: Female crabs ............................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 3: Immature and mature female crabs ........................................................................................ 6 Figure 4: male crab ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 5: The survey units in NAFO Division 2J North. .................................................................... 10 Figure 6: Fishing effort in NAFO 2J ....................................................................................................... 11 Figure 7: Three stacked small mesh pots on the left and the Minilog secured in a hole of the top cone on the right. ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 8: Shell ages................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 9: Measuring ................................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 10: Claw sizes ............................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 11: Tagged crabs........................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 12: Sample locations .................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 13: Avg catch per set ................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 14: Number of crab/small pot .................................................................................................... 20 Figure 15: Catch in the very first small mesh pot ................................................................................ 24 Figure 16: males in set 1 .......................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 17: Females in set 1 ...................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 18: Males in set 2 .......................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 19: Females in set 2 ...................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 20: Males in set 3 .......................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 21: Females in set 3 ...................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 22: Males in set 4 .......................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 23: Males in set 5 .......................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 24: Males in set 6 .......................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 25: Males in set 7 .......................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 26: Females in set 7 ...................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 27: Males in set 8 .......................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 28: Males in set 9 .......................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 29: Females in set 9 ...................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 30: Males in set 10 ........................................................................................................................ 36 Figure 31: Females in set 10 .................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 32: Males in set 11 ........................................................................................................................ 38 Figure 33: Females in set 11 .................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 34: Tagged crab ............................................................................................................................ 40 Figure 35: Temp per small pot ............................................................................................................... 44 Figure 36:Avg Temp per small pot. Scatterplot ................................................................................... 45 Figure 37: Bycatch in Small mesh pots .................................................................................................. 46 Figure 38: Images by bycatch ................................................................................................................. 48

List of Tables

Table 1: Quota reports by year ................................................................................................................. 2 Table 2: Summaries of the catch in each mesh pot per set ................................................................. 21 Table 3: Tagged crab details ................................................................................................................... 43 Table 4: List of bycatch species ............................................................................................................... 47 Table 5: Research collaboration summaries ......................................................................................... 60

Introduction The snow crab (Chionoectes opilio) fishery is presently the most valuable commercial fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2011, the Province landed 52,951 metric tonnes (mt) of snow crab, with a value of $251 Million CAD. By comparison, Atlantic Canada's total snow crab landings were 84,138 mt ($381 Million value) (DFO 2012 a, b). The Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab fishery began in 1967 in NAFO areas 3KL, just south of NAFO 2J. Since the 1980s, it has expanded to throughout the entire Province and incorporated many different fleets, including the Nunatsiavut fleet in the late 1990s. In 2011, the communal licences in NAFO 2J North landed 344 mt, which is 0.65% of the total landings in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Labrador Inuit Settlement Area (LISA) includes the newly amalgamated snow crab management area 2HJN (formerly NAFO 2H and 2J North until the 2012 season) with the fishery managed as 54'40" to 56'00'' N. This new area will soon be known as "Crab Management Area (CMA) 1" (Mullowney pers. comm.). The Collaborative Snow Crab Surveys took place in the area defined as NAFO 2J North and for the purpose of this document will be referred to as such. The fishing season in 2J North is from June 15 to August 30, and fishing activity begins once the ice clears. The snow crab fishery is managed by quota and 2J North has a communal quota contributing 15% to 19% of the total allowable catch (TAC) for all of 2J (North and South). In 2012, the total allowable catch (TAC) for NAFO 2J (North and South) was set at 1,952 mt, with the TAC for 2J North being 367 mt (DFO 2012c). The 2J North TAC was not landed in 2012, with 51% of the TAC not taken (Table 1). DFO has reported a decreasing trend in pre-recruit and exploitable biomass (Mullowney et al. 2012) in the area likely driven by warmer water temperatures. Snow crab prefer cold conditions, however water temperature has been warming since the mid-1990s (Dawe et al. 2011).

In 1989, the area North of 54'40" was reserved exclusively for Nunatsiavut but the first official communal allocation (500 mt) was given to the Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) in 1999. From 1999 to present, NAFO 2J North (in addition to 2GH, which combine to be the same area as DFO Crab Fishing Management Area 1) have been exclusive crab fishing zones for the Nunatsiavut Government and the Torngat Fish Producers Co-operative Society Limited (Coombs 2010). In addition to quotas, a fishing area, and a defined fishing season, the fishery is managed by gear restrictions which include trap and mesh size limits (135 mm). Undersized, female, and soft shelled crabs that are captured in traps are returned to the sea. Only hard shelled males with a carapace width (CW) of 95mm or greater are retained (Mullowney et al. 2012).

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Table 1: Quota reports by year Quota reports (in metric tonnes) by year for NAFO Division 2J communal licences, North of 54'40"N, as reported by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (1999-2012).

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The Nunatsiavut snow crab fishery is considered to be small scale and was operated by only 8 vessels in 2012. Accordingly, the fishery and fishing grounds have not been the focus of detailed scientific study, however the region is included in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Newfoundland and Labrador Region snow crab stock assessment. While absolute biomass and fishery mortality are not known, DFO monitors trends from several data sources in the stock assessment to indicate the status of commercial males, females, recruits, production, mortality, and fishery performance from year to year. The autumn multi-species bottom trawl survey data is compared with data from fisher logbooks (catch per unit effort, CPUE), at-sea observers, vessel monitoring system (VMS), dockside monitoring, and inshore and offshore trap surveys (south of 2J North). The snow crab population is variable by nature, however the biomass in NAFO 2J experienced a sustained decline in the early 1980s and then increased through 1990s to a peak in 1998 (Mullowney et al. 2012). The multi-species trawl survey indicates that the overall exploitable biomass in the North (NAFO Div. 2HJ3K) has recently decreased due to a decline in recruitment (Mullowney et al. 2012). The multi-species survey had been sampling NAFO 2H every second year but will henceforth be sampled every year. In autumn the multi-species survey samples NAFO 2HJ first, which follows the closing of the snow crab fishery and is ideal for estimating crab trends. The multi-species survey samples at all depths, which allows DFO to examine and monitor short, mid, and long-term recruitment prospects. Snow crab prey upon a wide range of benthic organisms including, polychaetes (marine worms), clams, shrimp, and fish (capelin Mallotus villosus, Atlantic spiny lumpsucker Eumicrotremus spinosus, redfish Sebastes spp.) (Squires & Dawe 2003). They also prey upon small snow crab (Squires & Dawe 2003) and dead fish (e.g. discarded bait) (Wieczorek & Hooper 1995). Their predators include Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) (Robichaud et al. 1991), species of wolffish (Anarhichas spp.), and seals (DFO 2011). Snow crab have a circumpolar distribution and support fisheries in the Pacific (Alaska, Russia) and Atlantic Oceans (Greenland, Norway, Atlantic Canada) (Herrmann and Greenberg 2007). They have a complex life cycle (Fig. 1) that includes several stages in the plankton before settling to the ocean floor where they moult their shells in the spring to grow. Males reach commercial size of 95 mm CW after approximately 8 to 9 years (DFO 2011). Males and females segregate by depth and group together according to maturity, shell condition and size. Virgin (primiparous) females and small adult males are generally found in shallower water whereas repeat spawners (multiparous) females and large adult males are found in deeper water (Sainte-Marie & Hazel 1992). Snow crab are most commonly found in waters less than 5°C (Tremblay 1997) and an upper limit of 7°C appears to exist for normal metabolic function (Foyle et al. 1989).

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Figure 1: Life cycle of snow crab Schematic diagram of the snow crab's lifecycle, adapted from Sainte-Marie et al. 1995. Years and carapace widths (CW) are estimates and approximations. Male snow crabs have three stages, juvenile (non-reproductive), adolescent (reproductive but small clawed), and adult (reproductive, terminally moulted, and large clawed). Females also have three stages, immature (narrow abdomen), prepubescent (ovaries begin to develop), and adult (fully rounded abdomen and reproductive) producing 12,000 to 160,000 eggs at a time, increasing with body size (Fig. 2, 3, and 4). Females can also store sperm to fertilize clutches at later times (Sainte-Marie and Carrière 1995). Male snow crab can reach a maximum CW of 150 mm, and females 80 mm CW, after their terminal moult to sexual maturity (Conan and Comeau 1986, Chabot et al. 2008). Terminal moult in females occurs from 40 to 75 mm CW and in males within a size range of approximately 40 to 115 mm CW (DFO 2011). Snow crab are expected to live 5 to 8 years after their terminal moult with a maximum lifespan of approximately 15 years (Sainte-Marie et al. 1995, Choi & Zisserson 2008, Fonseca et al. 2008). Females in addition to the males that mature and terminally moult at a CW < 95mm escape commercial harvest and thus are able to reproduce without exploitation.

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Figure 2: Female crabs From top to bottom, two mature females with rounded abdomens, one immature female with a narrow abdomen, and a male with a tapered abdomen.

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Figure 3: Immature and mature female crabs Immature female with clean (egg-free) pleopods (swimmerets) (top) and a mature female with orange eggs (bottom).

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Figure 4: male crab Males have two pleopods found under their abdomen and are used for the transfer of sperm. Fundamentally, a population’s abundance is governed by three processes; birth, death, and migration (Ricker 1954). These three factors are further influenced by interactions with other individuals, species, and the environment. With regard to fisheries, birth can be thought of as recruitment and death as fisheries mortality. If the fished population is considered healthy, then the underlying goal of fisheries management is to "balance" the new individuals growing and entering into the fishery with those being removed (both by fisheries and natural mortality). In essence, this requires identifying where maximum catches are reached but the population remains stable. With the conservation of healthy stocks as a goal, and because populations fluctuate with environmental conditions, it is important to have several strong years of recruitment to sustain a fishable biomass and a commercial fishery if conditions become unfavourable. The Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC) (2005) recommended that the keys to achieving long-term sustainability in the snow crab fishery are, good egg production, a reasonable fishing mortality, and a biomass composed of several year classes. Snow crab have been tagged opportunistically on the Scotian Shelf since 2004. A total of 9,471 crab were tagged with 611 recaptures reported and the recaptured crab travelling an average distance of 15.6 km. Although migration is not generally thought to be a major influence on population size, snow crab have the potential to move larger distances; a maximum distance of 280 km in was reported in the Scotian Shelf study (Choi et al. 2012). Another study in the

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southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and eastern Nova Scotia tagged 12,755 adult male snow crabs (between 1993 and 2003). Of the 1971 tag returns between 1994 and 2004, 1,703 had accurate recapture positions. The average distance travelled was 16.7 km for those in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (maximum 165 km) and 61.5 km for eastern Nova Scotia (maximum 368 km) (Biron et al. 2008). Snow crab along the Newfoundland shelf are now believed to travel larger distances than in the rest of Atlantic Canada due to the expanse of the Continental Shelf and the stock's distribution (Mullowney pers. comm. and under review). Snow crab in the eastern Bering Sea also undertake long-range migrations, with females travelling an average of 136 km (73.5 nautical miles) (Ernst et al. 2005). In NAFO 2J, it is possible that crab move across the 54'40" line. Tagging could shed some light on this aspect of the fishery as well as provide information about exploitation by dividing the number of tag returns by the total number tagged. An accurate estimate of exploitation would require that all recaptured tags are reported and tagged and untagged crab are exploited equally. For more details on this approach see Choi et al. (2012). Presently, DFO expresses fisheries exploitation in Newfoundland and Labrador as an index, comparing commercial landings with the exploitable biomass index from the fall survey of the previous year. Long-term changes in this ratio over time reflect trends in the exploitation rate of the fishery. In NAFO 2J, the index declined from 2003-2007 but has gradually increased from 2007 to 2010 (Mullowney et al. 2012). A precautionary approach (PA) framework (DFO 2009) has been developed by DFO and is beginning to be implemented in all fisheries. The goal of the framework is to estimate reference points and establish baselines for managed stocks. These reference points have yet to be estimated for the Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab fishery, however in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, the removal rate limit reference point, i.e., the maximum removal rate for a population in the "healthy zone" (DFO 2009), was calculated to be F = 0.346, or 34.6% of the fishable biomass. This value is the average exploitation rate expressed as catch in fishing year divided by the commercial sized adult male crab biomass estimate of the previous year for the 1998 to 2009 fishing years (Hebert et al. 2012). On the Scotian Shelf, the target removal reference is 22% of the fishable biomass (F = 0.22), with alternative indicators between 11 and 36% of fishable biomass (F = 0.11 to F = 0.36). Here F is defined as the fishing mortality of the legal sized mature male population (Choi et al. 2012).

Objective of Nunatsiavut Snow Crab Survey The objective of the Snow Crab Survey is to infer the continued health of the Nunatsiavut snow crab fishery in NAFO 2J North by obtaining data on the recruitment into the fishery, as well as the mortality and abundance of the crab within commercially fished areas. The concept of a collaborative research study with the commercial harvesters was accepted by the participants of the third-annual Snow Crab Workshop in 2011, in which harvesters agreed to take on a researcher each year to conduct a tagging and small mesh pot survey. Tagging will provide information on mortality rates and on abundance while small mesh pots will target the catch of juveniles and females to give an indication of recruitment in the area. In 2005, the FRCC recommended that DFO "work with harvesters to develop an economically viable pro-gram for

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the collection, integration, analysis and interpretation of scientific data necessary to achieve management objectives in order to improve the understanding of the factors influencing snow crab productivity". This collaborative survey is an excellent opportunity to collect this information for NAFO 2J North.

Methods Collaborative Snow Crab Surveys Monitoring snow crab health and abundance in collaboration with the Nunatsiavut fishers achieved consensus at the 2011 Annual Snow Crab Workshop in Nain. Two vessels will participate each year on a rotating basis to sample the study sites under a small mesh pot and tagging program. Participants are compensated with $250 for groceries, 2,500 litres of fuel and 2,000 pounds of bait. The vessel was required to take a researcher on board to conduct the sampling. Study Areas Four study sites were established in NAFO 2J North (Fig. 5) based on historical snow crab landings and by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO, Darrell Mullowney). These survey study sites were created to encompass potential ecological boundaries in connection to snow crab size and age characteristics across depth gradients. For example, small crab are often found in shallower areas than large crab. They were also designed with day-to-day fishing operations in mind and were conducted in locations with the largest fishing effort over a six year period (Fig. 6).

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Figure 5: The survey units in NAFO Division 2J North.

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Figure 6: Fishing effort in NAFO 2J Fishing effort in NAFO 2J, the solid black horizontal line marks the 54'40" line dividing NAFO 2J North from South. As fishing intensity increases, the colors range from purple to red. (DFO Regional Advisory Process meeting, 2012) Snow Crab Small Mesh Pot Program To collect data that can be used to estimate future fishery recruitment, small mesh pots with one inch mesh were deployed to target juvenile and female crab. Small mesh "jackets" (Fig. 7) were secured over top of three commercial pots per string and were then rotated in to the string, replacing a large mesh commercial pot during the hauling and stacking of a string of gear. The small mesh pots were distributed no closer than five pots in from each end and approximately in the centre of a 70 pot string. The goal was to have three strings with three small mesh pots each set in each of the four survey areas. A fisheries researcher, on behalf of the Secretariat, worked with the vessel crew to note shell condition (soft, new, intermediate, and old, Fig. 8), measure and record CW (Fig. 9), and identify bycatch species. Measurements were taken in mm to the closest 0.5 mm. The entire contents of the small mesh pot (no sub-sampling) was

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examined and measured before returning the species to sea. Contents of the small mesh pot could not be kept according to the DFO Experimental License. A Minilog was affixed the pot to record bottom temperature (a bait skiver/hook was best and hung through a hole in the entrance cone, Fig. 7) and recorded the bottom temperature every half hour. The latitude, longitude, soak time, and depth of the string were recorded by consulting the Captain. The vessel's Captain indicated that between 20 to 40 commercial sized crab should be expected per pot.

Figure 7: Three stacked small mesh pots on the left and the Minilog secured in a hole of the top cone on the right.

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Figure 8: Shell ages Shell ages. Left panels are females; a new shelled and old shelled female on top and a very old individual on bottom. Right panels are males; the top individual is a soft shell on top of a new shelled crab, on the bottom is an old shelled male. General guidelines to assessing shell condition are: Soft (1) the claw gives in to pressure, the shell is typically white underneath and pink on top, full (or mostly) of water, and legs have sharp points; New (2) shell is clean, it may not be full of meat, and the legs have sharp points; Intermediate (6) shell is clean to slightly fouled, full of meat, may have some epibionts or a few barnacles, and legs are becoming less pointed; Old (3) shell is fouled, full of meat, with potentially a few black spots and barnacles are common, and points on legs will be dull; Very Old (4) will have lots of black spots, full of meat, may have many of barnacles, and legs will be dull.

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Figure 9: Measuring Measuring carapace width of a snow crab with calipers. Carapace width (CW) measured in millimetres (mm) measured straight across the widest part of the carapace. (a note that this photo was taken in Alaska and the brown spots on the crab are sea leach egg cases from the North Pacific). Snow Crab Tagging Program In order to estimate fishing mortality, terminally moulted crab were tagged from a target of three commercial pots and the small mesh pots and returned to sea for recapture. As terminally moulted crab have stopped moulting, the tags should be retained on their carapace. The commercial pots were sampled from the same string containing the small mesh pots. Carapace width, right claw (chela) height (CH) (Fig. 10), shell condition, location and depth of retrieval were recorded, in addition to bycatch. The crab were tagged with a plastic spaghetti (Floy) tag by a square knot with the tag wrapped around the carapace through the first and second pair of walking legs (Fig. 11, Taylor et al. 1989, Taylor 1992, Sainte-Marie & Turcotte 2003, Gravel et al. 2006). When the tagged crab is recaptured, fishers will return the tag with a form stating the date and location to receive a cash award at the end of the fishery. Return of yellow tags will

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receive an award of $10 and blue tags will receive an award of $80. There was no target for the number of crab tagged, however every tenth crab received a blue tag.

Figure 10: Claw sizes A large clawed (terminally moulted, morphometrically mature) crab on top and a small clawed adolescent on the bottom. Height of the right claw (chela height, CH) is measured in millimeters to confirm with the model. Photo source DFO.

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Figure 11: Tagged crabs Tagged crab, blue tag with a reward of $80 on top, yellow with a $10 reward on the bottom panel. Claw (or chela) height was measured to validate the tagged crab was terminally moulted. Males develop enlarged claw when they undergo their terminal molt (Fig. 10), which can happen after they reach 40 mm CW. A statistical model which separates two groups of claw heights based on carapace width data was developed (Dawe et al. 1997) to classify each individual as either adult (large-clawed) versus adolescent or juvenile (small-clawed). This model is defined as: CH =

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(0.0806)*(CW1.1999). The model result (f) is then compared to the CH and if f is smaller than CH, the crab is considered to be terminally moulted. Data Summaries and Analysis

In addition to the model above to verify terminal moult, the data from each sampled set was summarized by pot type, small or large mesh. Crab carapace widths were binned in 3 mm increments for frequency distributions of shell age. If a CW was measured to the 0.5 mm, it was rounded up for the purpose of being "binned". Shell age was assessed to be soft, new, intermediate (i.e., they moulted last spring), and old (Fig. 8). The crab were also summarized into "small males (< 95mm)", "commercial males (≥ 95mm)" or "females". Minilog temperature data was averaged and standard error calculated. An exploratory regression of crab per pot and average temperature was performed to begin examining their relationship. The level of significance is set at 0.05, therefore if the resultant p-value (or probability-value) is less than 0.05, it will be considered a statistically significant relationship. The R2 is a value which indicates how much of the variability (how far the numbers in the dataset are spread from each other) in the dataset is accounted for by the statistical model. The R2 can be multiplied by 100 and interpreted as a percentage, for example, an R2 of 0.1 would indicate that 10% of the variance in snow crab catch can be explained by average temperature.

Results Sampled Area Sampling took place during two trips on board one commercial crab vessel from July 5 to July 10 and July 14 to July 19, 2012. A total of 11 sets were sampled (Table 2, Appendix A), five on the first trip, and six on the second. The vessel had gear in the water while in Makkovik to offload providing an opportunity for the researcher to observe how the gear was brought on board before sampling had begun to learn where pots are stacked, where the crab are stored, and to gain an idea of where to sample. The string retrieval had to be slowed or stalled to rotate the pots in to the string and also when the small mesh needed to be removed. The vessel agreed to set three strings with small mesh pots in Area 1 (Fig. 5), however the position of sets 1 to 3 (Fig. 12) illustrates that the border of the area was misjudged and that they were 19 set just outside of the box. The successive strings of gear were set North of the survey areas (Fig. 12) for the vessel to target commercial sized crab but were sampled to continue to test protocol and collect data opportunistically. As a result, none of the strings sampled were in the Collaborative Snow Crab Survey areas. The sampled sets can be clustered into 4 different groups (Fig 5). Sets 1 to 3 were together, as were 4, 5, and 9 to 11, sets 6 and 7 were at the Continental Shelf edge, and set 8 was solitary. The

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catch trends also reflect these groupings (Fig 13). The crab were in good condition with a few exceptions (Appendix B).

Figure 12: Sample locations Locations of 11 sampled sets (green circles, set number in centre). Far borders of sampling areas 1 and 2 plotted (red lines, see figure 1).

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Figure 13: Avg catch per set Average catch per set (total number of crab/3 small mesh pot), average total crab (black), commercial (blue), small males (green), and females (red). Small Mesh Pot Survey Three small mesh pots were successfully sampled for all 11 sets, summing to 33 total. All pots were baited with squid and were set without issue, located approximately five pots in from either end and in the centre of the strings (approximately 70 pots total per string). The small mesh jackets were better secured over the pot during the second trip by threading twine through the top and bottom of the jacket and pursing it closed on both top and bottom (Fig. 7). A total of 662 crab were measured, with an additional 26 males that were not measured due to a caliper malfunction, summing to 688 crab captured in the small mesh pots. The highest number of crab caught were in pots from sets 1, 2, and 3 (478 measured crab total between the three sets, 504 including the unmeasured), and 8 (128 crab) (Table 2, Fig 14). Sets 1 to 3 were also among the shallowest sets (Table 2, Appendix A). Most of the crab in these sets were small male crab (< 95mm) (Table 2, Fig 14) and were in good condition. The Captain had knowledge of the fishing grounds and indicated that a range of depths are located within each zone. He selected the locations to set the small mesh pots on sets 1 to 3 based on past experience, i.e., small crab were found in previous years. The remaining sets, 4 to 7 and 9 to 11 had between 2 to 17 crab, Table 2). The crew reported that some of the catch was lost out of the bottom of the small mesh pots

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upon retrieval. A first look indicates that for these sets, catch was not a function of soak time which ranged from 20 to 191 hours, with 7 of the sets having soaked for between 20 to 24 hours (Table 2, Appendix A).

Figure 14: Number of crab/small pot The total number of crab in each small mesh pot (set-small mesh pot) grouped by size and sex: small males (black), commercial males (green), females (red), and unmeasured males (grey).

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Table 2: Summaries of the catch in each mesh pot per set The number of undersized males (small males), commercial sized males, females per pot are reported and combined to a total number. The average number of crab per set was also calculated (#crab/3 pots). Bycatch recorded in each pot is also reported here. Additionally the average temperature for the pot with standard error (SE), soak time for the set and average depth (metres).

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Trip 1 (Sets 1 to 5):

Set 1 (Table 2, Appendix A) had the highest number of crab, 258 individuals total (86 average) (Table 2, Figs 13, 14, 15, 16), including 115 soft shelled males (Fig 16), and 11 commercial males. There were also 55 females (Fig. 17), two of which were immature, 20 were new shelled, and 16 were soft. In set 2, the catch was lower than in set 1, with a total of 39 crab (13 average, Table 2, Fig 13) consisting of 32 males < 95 mm, 29 of which were soft shelled (Table 2, Fig. 18). There were 7 females, however none were soft shelled (Fig. 19). In set 3, there were 197 (66 crab average, Fig 13, Table 2), 181 males, and 54 of those were soft shelled (Fig 20). There were 16 females in set 3, none were soft shelled but 8 were new (Fig 21). Sets 4 and 5 consisted of old shell commercial sized males and no females. There were 10 in set 4 (Fig. 22) and 2 in set 5 (Fig. 23).

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Figure 15: Catch in the very first small mesh pot

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Figure 16: males in set 1 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of males in set 1 grouped by shell condition: old (red), intermediate (blue), new (green) and soft (black).

Figure 17: Females in set 1 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of females in set 1 grouped by shell condition: old (red), intermediate (blue), new (green) and soft (black).

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Figure 18: Males in set 2 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of males in set 2 grouped by shell condition: old (red), new (green) and soft (black).

Figure 19: Females in set 2 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of females in set 2 grouped by shell condition: old (red), intermediate (blue), and new (green).

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Figure 20: Males in set 3 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of males in set 3 grouped by shell condition: old (red), intermediate (blue), new (green), and soft (black).

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Figure 21: Females in set 3 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of females in set 3 grouped by shell condition: old (red), intermediate (blue), and new (green).

Figure 22: Males in set 4 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled males in set 4.

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Trip 2 (Sets 6 to 11): A total of 182 crab were captured during the second trip (Table 2). Sets 6 and 7 were at the Continental Shelf edge (Fig. 12). Set 6 was comprised of only males, 3 soft shell (2 small, 1 large), and 1 of commercial size with and old shell (Fig. 24). In set 7, there were 7 crab total. Three were undersized soft shelled males (Fig. 25) and the remaining 4 were females: 3 soft shell immature females and one old with a clutch of orange eggs (Fig. 26). Set 8 was set on its own (Fig. 3) and had one old shelled female 53 mm CW (not plotted), and 127 male crab (Fig. 27), 51 of which were soft shelled (49 with a CW < 95mm). Sets 9, 10, and 11 were grouped in the same area (Fig. 12) and had few crab, all with old shells, with a total of 12, 17, and 13 individuals respectively (Fig 11). Set 9 had 7 commercial sized males, 1 small male (Fig. 28) and 5 females (Fig. 29). In set 10, there were 5 commercially sized males, 1 small male (Fig. 30) and 11 females (Fig. 31). There were 10 commercial crab in set 11, 1 small crab (Fig. 32), and 2 females (Fig. 33).

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Figure 24: Males in set 6 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled (red) and soft shelled (black) males in set 6.

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Figure 25: Males in set 7 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of soft shelled (black) males in set 7.

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Figure 26: Females in set 7 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled (red) and soft shelled (black) females in set 7.

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Figure 27: Males in set 8 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled (red), intermediate (blue), new (green), and soft shelled (black) males in set 8. There was one old shelled female which measured 53 mm CW (not plotted).

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Figure 29: Females in set 9 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled females in set 9.

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Figure 31: Females in set 10 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled females in set 10.

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Figure 33: Females in set 11 The carapace width (CW in mm) frequency distribution (binned in 3 mm increments) of old shelled females in set 11. Snow Crab Tagging A total of 95 crab were tagged (Table 3), 9 with blue tags ($80 reward), 86 with yellow ($10 reward) from 28 large mesh pots. Three large mesh pots were not successfully sampled from all strings however, if terminal moult crab were present, and time allowed, crab were also tagged from small mesh pots (Table 33, Appendix A). If there were a lot of small crab to sample from the small mesh pots, they were given priority as the fishery depends on recruitment and also to return the juveniles to sea in a timely manner. If time allowed the contents from three pots were collected and pooled to tag after the small mesh pots were sampled. After applying the model to validate terminal moult, 93 of 95 crab (97.9%) were correctly identified at sea as being terminally moulted, the exceptions were 2 old shelled males with CWs of 114.5 and 116 mm (Table 3). As these 2 crab were assessed to be old shelled and at the upper-limit of the CW range at terminal moult, it is possible that these crab have skipped a moult or that this is an issue with the model, potentially from an error in claw or carapace measurement. The majority of the crab tagged were old shelled (86 of 95 or 90.5%), four were soft shelled, one was new, and the remaining four were intermediate (Fig 34). Ten crab were terminally moulted but smaller than CW 95mm (10/93 terminal moults or 10.75%). There were no reported recaptures before the end of the fishing season.

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Figure 34: Tagged crab Frequency distribution of tagged crab, carapace widths are binned in 3 mm increments, and grouped by shell condition, old shelled (red), intermediate (blue), new (green), and soft shelled (black) males.

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Table 3: Tagged crab details Tagged crab details from each set including the tag number, the letter Y indicates a yellow tag, and B a blue tag. The date the crab was tagged, the carapace width (CW) in mm, shell age (O=old, I=intermediate, S=soft, N=new), claw height (CH) in mm, the model estimator of claw size (f), and if the claw was large or small according to f (crab 29 and 33 were small clawed). Additionally if the crab was missing legs, the total number remaining (including claws) was also recorded. Temperature

The average temperature recorded from the Minilogs ranged from -0.87 ± 0.02 to 1.72 ± 0.06 degrees Celsius (oC) (Fig. 35). A general observation was that there were more crab in pots where the average bottom temperature was in between 0.5 and 1 oC (Table 2, Appendix C). Seven pots did not have Minilogs due to being lost or being inadvertently removed. As a preliminary assessment, a scatterplot and regression analyses between average temperature and

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crab catches from each pot with the associated Minilog (Fig 36 A-D) revealed non-significant but positive relationships between average temperature and the total number of crab in each small mesh pot (Adjusted R2 = 0.0244, p-value = 0.2146, Fig 36A), small male crab (Adjusted R2= 0.0271, p-value = 0.205, Fig 36C), and females (Adjusted R2 = -0.01673, p-value = 0.4504, Fig 36D). There was a significantly positive (as temperature increases so does crab catch) relationship between average temperature and commercial sized crab (R2 = 0.2528, p-value = 0.0052, Fig 36B). After the 7 pots without temperature were removed from the dataset, 26 small mesh pots were retained with a total number of 54 commercial crab.

To further explore the relationship between temperature and crab catches per small mesh pot, the total from small mesh pot 1, set 1 (186 crab) and small mesh pot 2, set 3 (111 crab) were identified as outliers and excluded (Appendix D, A-D) and the analysis repeated. The overall outcome did not change, there was a non-significant and positive relationship between average temperature and the total number of crab in each small mesh pot (Adjusted R2 = 0.0662, p-value=0.1191, Appendix D, panel A), small males (R2= 0.0223, p-value = 0.2299, Appendix D, panel C), and for females (Adjusted R2 = - 0.0312, p-value= 0.5865, Appendix D, panel D). The relationship between legal crab and average temperature remained significantly positive (Adjusted R2 = 0.2354, p-value = 0.0095, Appendix D, panel B).

Figure 35: Temp per small pot Average temperature (oC) per small mesh pot (set number - small mesh pot number). Seven pots did not have Minilogs and are blank (above).

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Figure 36:Avg Temp per small pot. Scatterplot Scatter plot of average temperature (oC) and number crab per small mesh pots. A) Total crab, B) Commercial sized crab, C) Small male crab, and D) Female crab per small mesh pot versus average temperature (oC) from the corresponding Minilog. Trendlines are from a linear regression and illustrate positive relationships.

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Bycatch The small mesh pots captured more bycatch species than the large mesh pots. Only one male toad crab (set 1) and one whelk (set 5) were recorded from sampled large mesh pots. In the small mesh pots, a total of 13 different groups were found in 20 pots (Table 2, Fig. 37), brittle stars were the most numerous (68 were counted), followed by shrimp (32), whelks (15), and sea stars (9). All bycatch species were returned to the water.

Figure 37: Bycatch in Small mesh pots Number and category of bycatch observed in small mesh pots, ordered by count. Toad crab is reported as both male (M) and female (F).

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There were additional bycatch species observed throughout the survey in addition to those in the sampled pots (Table 4, Fig. 38), including spotted and northern wolffish, yellowtail flounder, and feather stars.

Species Scientific name Sea anemone (on whelk) Order Actinaria Feather star (yellow) Class Crinoidea Whelk (more than one species) Buccinum undatum (and others) Turbot Reinhardtius hippoglossoides Thorny skate Amblyraja radiata Longhorn sculpin Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus Yellowtail flounder Pleuronectes ferruginea Seastars (horse, sun, common) Hippasteria phrygiana, Solaster spp., Asterias

spp. Brittle stars Class Ophiuroidea Northern basket star Gorgonocephalus arcticus Sand fleas Order Amphipoda Toad crab (males and females) Hyas spp. Spotted wolffish Anarhichas minor Northern wolffish Anarhichas denticulatus Green sea urchin Stronglyocentrotus droebachiensis Egg with sand case Unknown Northern shrimp Pandalus borealis Sponge Phylum Porifera Table 4: List of bycatch species

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Figure 38: Images by bycatch

Sunstars

Horse star (left) and a common sea star (right)

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Feather star (left) and basket star (right)

Northern shrimp (top left) and three brittle stars.

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North Atlantic whelk (top left), sunstar (top right), unidentified egg in a sand case (centre), unidentified whelk (bottom left), and a sponge (bottom right).

Two sea anemones on a North Atlantic whelk.

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Toad crab: top panel, male toad crab (left) and female (right) with shrimp. Bottom left, female toad crab "decorated" with bryozoans. Bottom right, male toad crab.

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Spotted wolffish (top) and Northern wolffish (bottom)

Thorny skate

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Longhorn sculpin

Turbot

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Yellowtail flounder Discussion The pilot year of the collaborative snow crab survey in NAFO 2J North successfully deployed 33 small mesh pots to sample juvenile and female snow crab and tagged 93 terminally moulted, and two potentially adolescent, male snow crab from both small and large mesh pots, however none of the sampled sets took place in the predetermined areas (Fig. 5). On the whole catch rates were low and the vessel spent time exploring different grounds to search for aggregations of commercial crab. There were 3 sets of small mesh pots with > 100 (small) crab, set 1 (258 crab, 86 average), set 3 (197 crab, 66 average), and set 8 (128 crab, 43 average) (Table 2, Figs. 13, 14). Two sets were set in proximity (Fig. 12), set 1 (24 hour soak) and 3 (44.5 hours) however set 3 was in the water nearly a full day longer than set 1 (Table 2). In comparison, set 8 had a considerably longer soak (191 hours) than sets 1 and 3 (Table 2). The depths of these three sets also varied, from an average of 246 m (or 134.5 fm, set 3), 264 m (144.5 fm, set 1), and 304 m (166.5 fm, set 8) (Table 2). The average temperature, near 1 oC (Fig. 35, 36), was similar among these three samples, with a statistically significant positive relationship between the catch of commercial crab and temperature. Approximately 25% of the commercial snow crab variability was explained by average bottom temperature. While temperature is believed to determine snow crab distribution and is particularly important to early life stages (Lovrich et al. 1995, Dionne et al. 2003), more data would be necessary to confirm this in NAFO 2J North. The smallest male crab measured was 51 mm CW, which indicates the crab sampled were approximately 6 years and older, with crab being recruited to the fishery at an age of 9 years (Sainte-Marie et al. 1995). For perspective, the pre-recruit biomass is calculated by DFO by

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applying a 19 mm CW growth increment to adolescent (small-clawed) males larger than 75 mm (Mullowney et al. 2012). A range of shell conditions and ages were sampled including females with soft, new, and old shells. Bycatch organisms in small mesh pots were mostly echinoderms (brittle stars, sea stars, urchins etc...) and decapods (shrimp and toad crab) (Fig. 37). Trends in bycatch with depth and temperature can be examined in the future as more data is collected. It is worth noting that the sets without small crab and females also contribute important information because as the survey moves forward, it can begin to discover where or under which circumstances small, commercial, and female crab are found in the area. Water temperature in this study did not vary widely (Table 2, Fig. 35) and was within the range where snow crab would be expected, between – 0.5 and 5°C (Tremblay 1997). Water temperature also influences the catchability of crustaceans; they typically become more catchable as temperature increases (Miller 1990). Catchability and water temperature could be an important factor in this fishery as it takes place as soon as the ice clears in the spring (season opens June 15). Commercial catch per unit effort in NAFO 2J has been inversely related to bottom temperature at 6 to 8 year time lags, meaning catches are greater when the water is cold implying conditions were ideal for early life stages and recruitment (Dawe et al. 2011). The relationship between temperature and CPUE has deteriorated since 2004 as CPUE has increased in most years while the lagged bottom temperature has remained relatively unchanged in most years (Dawe et al. 2011). While some of the changes in CPUE have been influenced by changing management measures (i.e., earlier seasons and soft-shelled protocols), on the whole the evidence supports that cold conditions in early life promote survival and subsequent recruitment to the fishery (i.e., the late 1990’s) (Dawe et al. 2008). A warm oceanographic regime has persisted for more than a decade suggesting relatively poor long-term recruitment (DFO 2011). Additionally, as waters warm, it is possible that crab will begin to moult at different times of the year which may mean more soft shelled crab in the fishery, or possibly less skip-moulting (Dawe et al. 2012). As the collaborative snow crab survey moves forward, time lags can be explored to examine connections between past water temperature and present day catch. Additionally, a temperature by depth profile will be important to monitor over time, particularly in shallow areas where small crab are found. It is important that these shallow zones remain cold to maintain long-term recruitment. Unlike groundfish, crabs and crustaceans moult their shell which makes tagging studies more of a challenge as the tag will be lost with the old carapace. Tagging studies can be employed to address many different questions such as, movement (Taylor 1992), life history characteristics (Taylor et al. 1989), mortality (Siddeek et al. 2002), and catchability (Sainte-Marie and Turcotte 2003) of terminally moulted crab, or other life stages if they are expected to be recaptured quickly. In one study of snow crab movement in Bonavista Bay, NL, 10,118 legal-sized male snow crabs were tagged between 1979 and 1982 (inclusive) with 4,255 recaptured. The distance traveled ranged from 0.6 to 74.1 km (average, 10.7 km; median, 8.5 km) (Taylor 1992). Another study used tagging to determine how long it takes for soft shelled snow crabs to harden. They tagged 1,591 soft shelled commercial-sized crab in Bonavista Bay, NL in August 1984. Between September and December 1984, 68% of those animals released were recaptured. Of the

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recaptures, hard-shelled crabs made up 32.8% of crabs recaptured 31 to 60 days after released, 96% of crabs recaptured 76 to 90 days, and 100% of crabs recaptured after > 90 days (Taylor et al. 1989). In Alaska, 277 snow crab were fitted with archival tags to record depth and temperature, to learn if males migrate from deep waters to where the females are expected to be in the shallower water. To date, 23 snow crab were recaptured in the commercial fishery after more than 9 months post-release release. Preliminary data of tag depth records shows that some but not all the crab made an inshore migration and returned offshore (Nichols and Somerton 2012). The movement of these large commercial-sized males, particularly if they were tagged from deep water, should be interpreted with caution. These 54 crab have likely undertaken their "adult" migration to deep zones and are no longer likely to move large distances (Mullowney pers. comm.). Generally speaking, DFO is confident in the recruitment trends in NAFO 2H and 2J assessed by the multi-species survey. These areas are the first to be sampled and at the same time every year in the fall by the same research vessel which is ideal for assessing the post-fishery biomass. Additionally, an industry-DFO Collaborative Post-Season (CPS) trap survey (Stansbury et al. 2012, Mullowney et al. 2012) has taken place since 2007 in 2J south of 54'40". The results from the NAFO 2J South portion of the Cartwright Channel will be presented for the first time at the assessment meeting in February 2013 Fishing trends from logbooks, the multi-species survey (Mullowney et al. 2012), and the collaborative survey south of the 54'40" line, indicate that most of the fishing in NAFO 2J exploits one concentration of crab in the Cartwright Channel; fishing effort is focused in the same area on either side of the line. Recruitment is likely sourced from the top of the Hamilton and Makkovik Banks, with movement to the deeper channels and holes, like the Cartwright Channel, as crab grow (Mullowney pers. comm.). It may be to Nunatsiavut's benefit to explore a potential collaboration with the DFO-CPS survey in the future. Recruitment is of concern to many fisheries, including American lobster. The Atlantic Canadian American lobster fishery is heavily dependent on new recruits, with up to 90% being captured in a fishing season. The Fishermen and Scientists Research Society (FSRS, Table 4) based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, established a lobster recruitment index project in 1999 using modified lobster traps to collect information on undersized lobsters to monitor increases and declines to indicate the success of future catches. Volunteer fishers sample the pots and record the number, sexes, presence of females with eggs, and measure the lobsters with a modified size gauge which groups lobsters into measurement increments. They also record bottom temperature. The sample pot has been standardized in order to maximize the number of small lobsters retained using a 1 inch wire mesh, two 5-inch entry rings, no escape vents, and a biodegradable ghost panel. The project has grown to include over 150 fishers from all LFAs along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia (LFAs 27-35, Cape Breton to the Upper Bay of Fundy). Each volunteer fishes two to five traps that are in the same location every year during the commercial fishery. The results from this survey have been integrated into the DFO stock assessments as an indicator of recruitment and stock health (Tremblay et al. 2011).

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The FSRS lobster recruitment index is an excellent example of fishing industry collaborating with science and government. In general, many of the community based associations in Atlantic Canada, and worldwide (Table 5), have taken part in collaborative research projects at one time, with many focusing on tagging while others examine recruitment or fishing efficiency. Collaborations between science and industry can range from fishers agreeing to return tags and record catch information (i.e., depth and location), to more collaborative work such as designing research questions and conducting the sampling (i.e. small mesh pots, bycatch studies, Table 5), over both a long or short time frame. It is useful to engage in independent research or collaborative scientific studies as it empowers the community in the knowledge about their own fishing area and the status of the resource. DFO currently has a reduced capacity to conduct scientific studies and industry is often relied upon to conduct or collaborate in scientific research. Working in collaboration with science allows for the data to be analysed by DFO and can contribute to stock assessments. Most importantly, the data can be analysed by Nunatsiavut Government scientists in order to make recommendations to the DFO management and to Designates. For example, collecting data on bycatch would be useful if Nunatsiavut was to apply for an eco-certification, such as from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which considers the fishery's impact on other species. Both the Nova Scotia and Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fisheries have recently received MSC certification.

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Table 5: Research collaboration summaries Summaries of representative science and fishing industry research collaborations. The nature of the collaborators, where the fishery takes place, the species fished, a summary of the research program and the years of operation, and the location of further information or where results can be found (links, peer-review etc...) are reported above.

Recommendations With regards to moving forward with the survey, there are two key recommendations: (1) to keep the survey protocol as designed and executed in 2012, but with two modifications; and (2) a "fishery-independent" survey where a vessel would be contracted to conduct the survey and sampling in the fall. The first recommendation specifies that the present survey protocol should continue, ensuring that sampling take place within the defined areas (i.e. Fig 5), where 3 sets with 3 small mesh pots would be sampled in each area (9 pots/area). This would help ensure a valid depth-stratified approach is maintained and therefore all components of the snow crab population (large, small, females) are sampled. However, two modifications are required: one modification would be to expand Area 1 to include the sets from this year or add a fifth area where small crab were found in sets 1 to 3; the second modification would be to tag crab on "off-strings", i.e. on sets without small mesh pots (and/or as able from the small mesh pots). This would allow the researcher to focus on one sampling task during gear retrieval and minimize the number of sample totes on deck. The commercial fishery is an ideal time to gather data as vessels will be on the grounds and the samples will likely best reflect the distribution of large (commercial) exploitable crabs. By repeatedly sampling within established areas, a time series data set would exist for each area and allow for stronger statistical analyses and understanding of snow crab in NAFO 2J North. For example, time series data would allow for following and tracking groups of small crab from year to year as they recruit into the fishery.

The second recommendation would be a "fishery-independent" survey where a vessel would be contracted to conduct the survey and sampling in the fall. The survey could be a depth-stratified design and achieve the two objectives, recruitment and tagging (Mullowney et al.

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2011). In this scenario, there would be more crab tagged and they would also be available to be captured by the spring fishery and provide a better estimate of exploitation. The fishery-independent survey would also not remove any of the catch from the fishers in terms of tagged crab being returned and small mesh pots being put on the string replacing commercial pots. Post-fishery surveys for snow crab are common (i.e., Nova Scotia, Choi et al. 2012 and Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Hebert et al. 2012) and fall surveys are ideal for fisheries which are dependent upon immediate recruitment each year (i.e. recruitment fishery). Fall surveys also allow the soft-shelled crab to become new-hard-shelled. This index of abundance of new-hard-shelled crabs in the fall plus the intermediate and old shelled adults would provide a good index of recruitment related to the next year's catch. This scenario would not have to rely on fishers taking a researcher on board while commercially fishing and would also provide a better opportunity to sample shallower grounds where smaller individuals (pre-recruits) are likely found in higher concentrations and these cohorts could be followed through time. This scenario would require more funding, which may be difficult to sustain in the long-term. Additionally, in the fall post-fishery, it would be more likely to encounter poor weather delaying or prolonging the survey, in addition to potential exposure mortalities of the crab. There would also be no guarantees of locating crab.

There were some challenges this year, the largest was due to a low abundance of commercial crab, and vessels moved out of the established sampling areas quickly. The sampling areas were designed in part on past fishing effort and where crab has been identified (i.e. multi-species survey). As a result, there was time spent waiting in anticipation for a vessel to fish in the sample areas. Given that the season is short and there are 8 vessels, this will likely continue to be an issue in the future. To address this issue of taking a researcher on board earlier in the season, this could be predetermined on a rotating basis. In theory a vessel would take a researcher once every 4 years, with two vessels sampling two different sample areas per season. Another challenge was that many vessels stopped fishing before the quota was captured, again due to low catches, which did not allow for tagged crab to be recaptured. In the future, tag returns could lend some insight into the number of crab moving back and forth across the 54' 40" line. The survey was designed with a range of habitats and depths in mind to capture small and large crab to begin to estimate short and long-term recruitment prospects. In order for the survey to become representative, it is important that the fishers sample a range of grounds. Further to sample areas, it would be useful to have a GPS programmed with the four sampling areas (polygons) allowing the researcher to mark each string. It would also be helpful to board the vessel with pots prepared with small mesh to save time on deck and ensure a tight fit over the frame in order to prevent lost crab or bycatch during retrieval.

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Conclusions The pilot year for the collaborative snow crab survey deployed 33 small mesh pots outside of the pre-established sampling areas (Fig. 5 and 12). The small mesh pots successfully captured the targeted small males (pre-recruits) and female crab and provided an opportunity to record a range of bycatch species and record bottom temperature. Terminally moulted crab were accurately identified and tagged. Refinement of research priorities is recommended, in particular, if short and long-term predictions in recruitment are a key objective, a range of depths (i.e. shallow) would need to be sampled.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat, Julie Whalen, Beverly White, Rosamond Andersen, Bryn Wood, Aaron Dale, Jennifer Mitchell Foley, and Jamie Snook for logistical support and comments. I thank Darrell Mullowney and Earl Dawe for their scientific expertise and insight. Sincere thanks to the Vessel Captain and Crew for making the survey possible and many discussions, to Lori Dyson for lodgings and general support in Makkovik. Gratitude is extended to the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board, Torngat Fish Producers, and Todd Broomfield from the Nunatisiavut Government for guidance. Thank you to Laura Weir for comments, and to Mauricio Castrejon and Shannon Arnold for conversations and sources of science-industry collaborations.

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Appendix A: Latitude and longitude of sampled sets, including depth in fathoms and metres, soak time (hours), the number of small mesh and large mesh pots sampled, and the number of crab tagged from the string.

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Appendix B: Images of crab with irregularities:

Previously injured claw, perhaps while in soft shelled condition.

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Crab with holes in carapace.

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Crab with black spot in eye (left hand side), and rot on limbs.

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Irregular male.

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Appendix C:

Average crab per set on the left axis, and average temperature on the right axis.

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Appendix D:

Scatter plot of average temperature (oC) and number crab per small mesh pots with two outliers removed: set 1 small mesh pot 1 (186 crab total) and from set 3 small mesh pot 2 (111 crab total). A) Total crab, B) Commercial sized crab, C) Small male crab, and D) Female crab per small mesh pot versus average temperature (oC) from the corresponding Minilog. Trendlines are from a linear regression and illustrate positive relationships.

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Annotated Bibliography 1) Abramson S, Cairns C, DeLeuw K, Hamrin S, Hardy D (2005) Collaborative monitoring of

the spiny lobster in the Channel Islands Marine Protected Areas. MSc thesis. University of California, 234 pp.

This study is a collaboratively completed Masters' Thesis. The authors collaborate with commercial spiny lobster fishers to assess the impact of Marine Protected Areas on the fishery in the Channel Islands off of Santa Barbara, California. This thesis also includes rationale around collaborating with industry and highlights case studies of successful collaborations.

2) Biron M, Ferron C, Moriyasu M (2008) Movement of adult male snow crab, Chionoecetes

opilio, in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and eastern Nova Scotia, Canada. Fisheries Research 91: 260-270

This study tagged adult male snow crab from the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (SGSL) and Eastern Nova Scotia (ENS) from 1993-2003. Out of 12,755 crab tagged, 1971 were recaptured, tags returned, with 1703 having accurate positions. Average distance travelled in the SGSL was 61.5 km, 165 km maximum. In ENS the average distance travelled was 61.5 km and the maximum 368 km. When and where the crab were released before recapture influenced how far they travelled. The results suggest that the SGSL snow crab stocks are more sedentary than those in ENS. Snow crab also moved between management areas.

3) Campana SE, Joyce W, Fowler M (2010a) Subtropical pupping ground for a cold-water

shark. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 67:769-773

Through collaborations with commercial pelagic longline fishers, porbeagle sharks were tagged off Atlantic Canada and their pupping grounds in the Sargasso Sea were discovered.

4) Campana SE, Gibson AJF, Fowler M, Dorey A, Joyce W (2010b) Population dynamics of

porbeagle in the northwest Atlantic, with an assessment of status to 2009 and projections for recovery. Collect. Vol. Sci. Pap. ICCAT, 65(6): 2109-2182

Data from porbeagle sharks tagged in collaboration with pelagic longliners in the Atlantic Ocean was used to evaluate population dynamics and recovery.

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5) Campana SE, Dorey A, Fowler M, Joyce W, Wang Z, Wright D (2011) Migration pathways, behavioural thermoregulation and overwintering grounds of blue sharks in the Northwest Atlantic. PLoS ONE 6(2): e16854

Tagging of blue sharks with archival tags, in collaboration with commercial pelagic longliners, discovered that the sharks dive much deeper during the day than at night after entering the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream likely serves as a key winter feeding ground.

6) Chabot D, Sainte-Marie B, Briand K, Hanson JM (2008) Atlantic cod and snow crab

predator-prey size relationship in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 363: 227–240

This study examined the stomach contents of 30,973 Atlantic cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the presence of snow crab. Snow crab were then measured to record the range of individuals consumed by different sizes of cod. The most commonly ingested crab in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NGSL) were between approximately 6 to 8 mm and 12 to 16 mm CW. In the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (SGSL) they ranged from 17 to 31 mm CW. The larger the cod, the larger range of crab they could eat. There appears to be an upper limit to the size of snow crab that cod are able to ingest, 65.1 mm CW. Given the amount of small crab preyed upon by cod, estimated to be within the first 4 years of their life, it was predicted that any predation effects of cod on crab wouldn't be detected until 6 to 11 years later.

7) Choi JS, Zisserson BM, Cameron BJ (2012) Assessment of Scotian Shelf Snow Crab in 2011.

DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/024. iv + 95 p.

This is the most recent stock assessment research document of the snow crab stock and fishery on the Scotian Shelf of Nova Scotia. Contained within this report are details and caveats of their tagging program in addition to the methodology and estimation of fishery reference points according to DFO's Precautionary Approach (See DFO 2009).

8) Conan GY, Comeau M (1986) Functional maturity and terminal molt of male snow crab,

Chionoecetes opilio. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 43:1710–1719

This study provides evidence that claw size and carapace width can correctly identify a mature male from an immature. It also documents that moult to maturity can occur from 60 to 120 mm CW and estimates upwards of 40% of the commercial catch > 95mm CW can be immature.

9) Coombs R (KKBRCoombs Consulting) (2010) A Review of the Development and

Management of the Chionoecetes opilio fishery in Nunatsiavut (Draft), 50 p.

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This report was prepared under contract to review the snow crab fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador with a focus on Nunatsiavut. It documents the history while taking into account future prospects of the fishery and conservation concerns.

10) Dawe EG, Taylor DM, Veitch PJ, Drew HJ, Beck PC, O’Keefe PG (1997) Status of

Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab in 1996. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 97/07, 30 p.

Dawe et al. 1997 is the snow crab stock research assessment document for Newfoundland and Labrador for 1996. It also provides the sentinel statistical model for the Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab terminal moult which separates two groups of claw heights based on carapace width data was developed. Individuals are classified either as adult (large-clawed) versus adolescent or juvenile (small-clawed). This model is defined as: CH = (0.0806)*(CW1.1999). The model result (f) is then compared to the CH and if f is smaller than CH, the crab is considered to be terminally moulted.

11) Dawe E, Mullowney D, Stansbury D, Skanes K, Hynick E, Fiander D, Veitch P,

Colbourne E, O’Keefe P, Maddock-Parsons D (2011) An Assessment of Newfoundland and Labrador Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in 2009. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2011/073. iv + 189 p.

This is the full stock assessment research document for Newfoundland and Labrador for 2009. It contains trends of the stock, fishery, and temperature.

12) Dawe EG, Mullowney DR, Moriyasu M, Wade E (2012) Effects of temperature on size-at-

terminal molt and molting frequency in snow crab Chionoecetes opilio from two Canadian Atlantic ecosystems. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 469:279-296

This study examines the effect of temperature on the moulting and size-at-terminal moult of snow crab from multi-species trawl survey on the Newfoundland Shelf and the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The authors found that size-at-terminal moult was strongly influenced by temperature, with a stronger effect on females than males, and that temperature influenced the terminal moult of many different sizes of crab. They also noted that crab of both sexes with a CW larger than 50 mm occasionally skipped a moult. Conclusions relevant to the fishery were that high temperatures encourage favourable direct recruitment into the fishery, however lower temperatures are most beneficial for early life stages (promoting future recruitment).

10) Dawe EG, Taylor DM, Veitch PJ, Drew HJ, Beck PC, O’Keefe PG (1997) Status of

Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab in 1996.

snow crab surveys in nafo division 2j north · the fishing season in 2j north is from june 15 to...

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