ARCHIVED - 2000 - 2004 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan - Gaspereau (Alewife) Prince Edward Island (Inclusive)

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Gaspereau (Alewife) Alosa pseudoharengus

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Table of Contents

Intoduction

1. OVERVIEW OF THE FISHERY

1. Participants
2. Location of the Fishery
3. Time frame of Fishery
4. Landings/Value/Markets
5. Consultative Process
6. Management Styles

2. STOCK STATUS

1. Biology, Environment, Habitat
2. Species Interactions
3. Assessment
4. Research
5. Prospects for 2000

3. LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES FOR THE FISHERY
4. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

1. Conservation/Sustainability
2. International Considerations
3. Domestic Considerations

5. CURRENT MANAGEMENT ISSUES
6. MANAGEMENT MEASURES FOR 2000

1. Fishing Seasons
2. Control and Monitoring of Fishing Activities
3. Quota Allocations
4. Other Relevant Elements

1. Licensing
2. Key Legislation

7. ENFORCEMENT ISSUES AND STRATEGIES FOR 2000

1. Overview
2. Main Program Activities
3. Fishery Patrol Vessels
4. Air Surveillance
5. Enforcement Issues and Strategies

ANNEX I
Management Plan Evaluation Criteria

ANNEX II
Conservation & Protection Plan Evaluation Criteria

ANNEX III
Consultative Group

ANNEX IV
DFO Roles and Responsibilities

ANNEX V
Press Release

ANNEX VI
Species Profile

Introduction

This is a five-year plan for 2000/2004, which covers the gaspereau fishery for Prince Edward Island.

Note: This plan is intended to operate in conjunction with an annual gaspereau harvesting plan in which specific harvesting guidelines such as fishing areas, seasons, weekly close times, etc. may be adjusted according to conservation requirements.

1. OVERVIEW OF THE FISHERY

The gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island is a fishery that uses dip nets, gill nets and trap/box nets to fish gaspereau from the coastal ponds, tidal rivers, and coastal areas all around the province. There is both a commercial and a bait gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island. There is no recreational gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island. In the commercial fishery the fishers sell the freshly caught gaspereau directly to lobster or snow crab fishers for bait or to buyers who in turn sell the gaspereau to lobster or snow crab fishers for bait. In the bait fishery licence holders fish gaspereau for their own use and this mainly carried out by lobster fishers. The following is a brief description of the different fishing methods:

Dip net: is a bag-like net that is fixed to a frame which a handle is attached and manipulated by hand to catch gaspereau without enmeshing them.

Gill Net: is a net by which fish is caught by being enmeshed and that does not enclose an area of water. The mesh size is not more than 89 mm.

Trap/Box Net: is a net set so as to enclose an area of water into which fish are guided through an opening or openings by one or more leaders. These nets are usually set perpendicular to the shoreline and as the gaspereau arrive at the leader they follow it and swim though the open doors into a box shaped trap. Once inside the trap, the gaspereau swim in circles trying to avoid the leader and fail to locate the open doors. Fishers close the doors and remove the gaspereau from the box shaped enclosure.

1.1 Participants

There are 23 commercial licences for gaspereau on Prince Edward Island. The commercial licence gear types are dip net, gill nets and trap/box nets. These licences can be valid one gear type or any combination of the three gear types. The majority of commercial gaspereau licence holders are located in Kings County part of the province.

There are 923 bait licences for gaspereau on Prince Edward Island. The bait licence gear types are dip net, gill net and trap/box net. The majority of bait licences are for dip net or gill net. Gaspereau bait licence holders are located all around the province.

There is no aboriginal participation in the gaspereau fishery and there is no recreational fishery either.

On Prince Edward Island there are no registered processors for gaspereau as they are sold locally for bait.

1.2 Location of the Fishery

The gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island is undertaken from the coastal ponds, tidal rivers and coastal areas all around the province. The Queens County area of the province receives the majority of fishing effort in both the commercial and bait fisheries.

1.3 Timeframe of Fishery

Dip Nets:May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

Gill Nets: May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

Trap/Box Nets:May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

The heaviest fishing effort in both the commercial and bait fisheries normally occurs from mid to late May until the end of the season.

1.4 Landings/Value/Markets

 

YEAR	LANDINGS (kg.)	VALUE ($)
1989	132,329	42,986
1990	83,121	26,620
1991	86,848	28,426
1992	316,972	92,608
1993	199,986	68,877
1994	115,029	36,149
1995	58,706	19,069
1996	53,260	22,723
1997	106,903	43,136
1998	52,257	33,734
1999	92,553	61,705

*Note that 1999 is preliminary and subject to changes.

1.5 Consultative Process

Consultations with clients are carried out in a number of ways using both formal and informal processes. The gaspereau fishery is covered under the Prince Edward Island Estuarine Advisory Committee. The PEI Estuarine Committee is chaired by Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans and only meets as issues come up which needs industry feed-back (at least once per year). Representation is listed below:

Prince Edward Island Estuarine Advisory Committee

1. Commercial gaspereau fishers
2. Members of Aboriginal Communities
3. Provincial Fisheries
4. PEI Processors Association
5. DFO Resource Management, Conservation and Protection and Science Branch

1.6 Management Styles

The commercial gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island is managed by effort controls. The most significant of these are the following:

1. Seasons
2. Limiting the number of licences
3. Limiting the number of trap/box nets per fisher
4. Weekly close time

The bait gaspereau fishery is managed by effort controls as well. The most significant are as follows;

1. Seasons
2. Weekly close time
3. Limiting licence holders to one gear type
4. Limiting the amount of gill nets to a maximum of 50 fathoms
5. Daily quota of 1000 lbs.

2. STOCK STATUS

2.1 Biology, Environment, Habitat

Gaspereau consist of two species, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and the blueback herring (A. aestivalis). These species closely resemble each other externally. The easiest means of distinguishing the two species is by the colour of the lining of the abdominal cavity, which is pale pink in alewives and dark smoky grey in blueback herring.

Both species of gaspereau are anadromous, and undertake a spawning migration into fresh waters in spring. In general, the blueback migration comes after the alewife migration, although runs of the two species overlap. On PEI, the main migration is in June, with movement in some systems also occurring in May and in July. Gaspereau runs on the West River are exclusively bluebacks. Small samples taken in the Hillsborough River, the Morell River, and the PEI National Park indicate a preponderance of alewives. The gaspereau run of the Dunk River is about two thirds alewife. Species composition elsewhere has not been recorded.

When not in their freshwater spawning migration, gaspereau occupy estuaries and open salt water, and may be found some distance from the coast. Gaspereau enter the size ranges taken by fisheries at the approximate age of three years.

Gaspereau of separate rivers are separate stocks. If both species exist in a river, then there are two stocks in that river.

2.2. Species Interactions

Gaspereau eat a variety of small aquatic creatures. Predators include cormorants and seals, and they are probably also preyed on by predatory fish such as large cod. In fresh water, small juveniles are prey to a wide variety of fish and bird predators.

2.3 Assessment

No scientific assessments have been conducted on PEI gaspereau stocks. Official landings figures are monitored, but such figures have poor reliability because private sales between fishers are not necessarily captured in official statistics.

2.4 Research

No research on gaspereau is presently being undertaken in PEI waters, and none is foreseen.

2.5 Prospects for 2000-2004

Available information on the status of gaspereau on PEI was last reviewed in the following report:

Prince Edward Island eels, gaspereau, silversides, and smelts. DFO Science Stock Status Report D3-18. 1997.

Because of the limited knowledge of the status gaspereau stocks on PEI, no reliable projections can be made regarding the future of the resource.

3. LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES FOR THE FISHERY

Long term objectives for the Prince Edward Island gaspereau fishery include the following:

• To ensure the conservation of gaspereau stocks;
• To ensure basic needs of aboriginal peoples for food, social and ceremonial purposes are met as a priority after conservation requirements through the development of AFS agreements;
• Match fishing effort with available resources in the commercial and bait fisheries;
• Improve scientific information base on gaspereau;
• Improve statistical data collection on gaspereau landings and fishing effort both for the commercial and bait fisheries.

4. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

4.1 Conservation/Sustainability

The management objectives for the gaspereau fisheries in Prince Edward Island are as follows:

• To promote and ensure the conservation and protection of gaspereau and their habitat;
• To ensure optimal use by commercial and bait fishing interests both now and for the future generations;
• To improve data collection on fishing effort and landings.

4.2 International Considerations

There are no international considerations in this fishery as it is fished by a Canadian fleet within Canadian waters.

4.3 Domestic Considerations

1. Aboriginal Fishery
   
   To work together to ensure that aboriginal communities have first access to the gaspereau fishery after conservation requirements are met for food, social and ceremonial requirements. Prince Edward Island hosts two Aboriginal First Nations; Lennox Island First Nation on Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nation located in Rocky Point, Scotchfort and Morell Rear and one Aboriginal umbrella organization the Native Council of PEI located in Charlottetown.
   
   
2. Recreational Fishery
   
   There is no recreational gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island.
   
   
3. Commercial
   
   The following are the objectives for commercial fisheries:
   • To optimize the use of a limited resource while achieving profitability and sustainability;
   • Ensure fishing effort is evenly distributed;
   • Maintain the cap on the number of commercial licences and reduce through attrition;
   • Improve data collection on fishing effort and landings throughout the area.
4. Exploratory/Experimental
   
   There is no exploratory/experimental gaspereau fishery on Prince Edward Island.

5. Current Management Issues

1. Issue: Aboriginal Access to the Commercial Fishery
   The aboriginal community does not have any commercial gaspereau licences.
   Approach:
   Utilize existing programs under the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy to obtain commercial licences for the aboriginal community.
   
   
2. Issue: Poor Statistical Information Base
   There is a poor statistical information base on the gaspereau landings and the location of the fishing effort on Prince Edward Island. This is compounded by the fact that the gaspereau are often sold locally or are used as bait by the fishers themselves.
   Approach:
   Improve reporting procedures and educate fishers and buyers about the importance of accurately recording the amount and location of landings. Explore the possibility of implementing a logbook system to record catch and effort.
   
   
3. Issue: Overfishing
   The fishing effort in certain areas is very heavy and there is a danger of not allowing enough escapement for spawning.
   Approach:
   In consultation with the Prince Edward Island Estuarine Advisory Committee lengthen the weekly close time to ensure that high enough levels of escapement are met.
   
   
4. Issue: Dip Nets Being Used as Sweep Nets
   Over the past number of years commercial and bait gaspereau fishers with a dip net licence have been using sweep nets, which is not an authorized gear type.
   Approach:
   In consultation with fishers and Conservation and Protection personnel recommend that commercial licences with dip net be converted to trap/box net and that bait licences with dip net be converted to gill net.

6. Management Measures for 2000

6.1 Fishing Seasons

The fishing season for both the commercial and bait fisheries is listed below.

Dip Nets: May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

Gill Nets: May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

Trap/Box Nets: May 1 to June 30 with a weekly close time from 08:00 hrs each Friday to 18:00 hrs on the following Sunday.

6.2 Control and Monitoring of Fishing Activities

This fishery is controlled and monitored by fishery officers in vehicles, small launches, ATV's and on foot patrols. Fishing gear and licences are checked to ensure that only licensed fishers partake in the fishery.

6.3 Quota Allocations

There is no quota assigned to the commercial gaspereau fishery as it is managed by effort controls (i.e. season, #of licences, etc.) In the bait gaspereau fishery there is a 1000 lb. daily limit.

6.4 Other Relevant Elements

a) Licensing

All individuals participating in the commercial and bait gaspereau fishery must be registered as commercial fishers. Commercial gaspereau fishing licences must be renewed on an annual basis. Fishers can combine commercial licences up to the maximum allowable amount for trap/box nets. The maximum amount for trap/box nets is 4 nets. Any fisher who holds a licence that requires bait (i.e. lobster, snow crab, tuna, etc.) can be issued a gaspereau bait licence for fifty fathoms of gill net.

b) Key Legislation

Fisheries Act, Fishery (General) Regulations, Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations and the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licences Regulations.

7. Enforcement Issues and Strategies for 2000

 

Gaspereau (Alewife) Alosa pseudoharengus

7.1 Overview

Conservation and Protection are tasked with ensuring compliance in two very specific and short-term gaspereau fisheries, namely a commercial trap net and a bait (sweep/gill net) fishery.

The commercial gaspereau fishery is limited to the East and West Hillsborough River Systems and typically box nets are utilized. On occasion these commercial fishers exercise their gill net privileges and commercially fish some traditional gaspereaux runs along the North Shore of Prince Edward Island.

The bait fishery is exercised by various lobster fishers in all 3 counties of Prince Edward Island where traditional runs appear.

7.2 Program Activities

The main activity in this fishery involves Fishery Officers conducting patrols on land to monitor license compliance, seasonal/weekend closures, channel obstruction, non-tidal fishing violations, net identification, and net location.

7.3 Fishery Patrol Vessels

Fishery Officers conduct patrols in motor vehicles and on foot, for the most part in this fishery, to ensure compliance of above activities.

7.4 Air Surveillance

No directed flights toward this fishery but any opportunity to monitor placement of nets in conjunction with other flights are an asset.

7.5 Enforcement Issues and Strategies

ISSUES	STRATEGIES
License requirements Personal registrations Closure times Gear markings (tags) Gear Placement Gear mesh size Channel obstruction Tidal water fishing only Illegal by-catch Gill net Vs sweep net activity	Dockside checks Foot patrols Vehicle patrols License checks Stake-outs Gear checks Species inspections Public information Industry-consultation meetings Licensing center information

ANNEX I

Management Plan Evaluation Criteria

• Feedback from industry
• Timeliness of decision making
• Communications to industry
• Inter-governmental relations
• Food fishery requirements met
• In-season adjustment
• Overall adherence to plans

ANNEX II

Conservation & Protection Plan Evaluation Criteria

• # fishery officer hours
• # fishing violations
• # waterside checks
• # gear inspections
• # species inspections
• # investigations
• # patrols (boat, foot, vehicle)
• # stakeouts
• # seizures/forfeitures

ANNEX III

Consultative Group

Terms of Reference for Prince Edward Island Working Groups

• To provide a format for input into management policies by users of resource and Federal and Provincial Government agencies;
• To review and advise DFO fishery managers on policies and concerns related to the fishery resource;
• To promote better management of the fisheries resource in inland and coastal waters of Prince Edward Island;
• To represent Prince Edward Island area fisheries, provide advice and make recommendations to advisory committees at the Regional, Inter-regional and National levels through active representative membership on those committees;
• To improve communications between users and government agencies;
• Working groups will act as advisory bodies to DFO fishery managers with recommendations delivered by consensus rather than by vote.

ANNEX IV

DFO Roles and Responsibilities

Resource Management

• Takes the lead in bringing the various DFO sectors and elements of the management plan together to develop the management options;
• Responsible for consultations with industry and provinces;
• Responsible for managing pre, in, post-season processes;
• Responsible for drafting the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan.

Science

• Provides the stock and fishery assessment on an annual basis;
• Indicates any conservation concerns;
• Provides advice on the appropriateness of management options to address conservation concerns;
• Specifies what, if any, data requirements they need to have to facilitate in-season adjustments and post-season evaluations;
• Advises of research projects required for proper assessment of the stock.

Aboriginal Affairs

• Ensures legal obligations or policies are addressed;
• Negotiates and approves fisheries agreements with aboriginal groups.

Conservation and Protection

• Identifies enforcement problems to be addressed in the development of the management plan;
• Suggests specific enforcement measures to address enforcement issues;
• Develops proposed enforcement plans and carries them out.

Policy

• Provides input on international obligations or concerns;
• Responsible for making regulatory changes required in support of management plan.

Communications

• Provides advice on developing appropriate strategies for communicating management plan.

Departmental Contacts

Name	Groups	Tel. Number	Fax Number	E-mail Address
Hank Scarth	Area Director	902-566-7810	902-566-7848	scarthh@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Jim Jenkins	Chief, Resource Management	902-566-7815	902-566-7848	jenkinsj@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Peter Zahrndt	Chief, Conservation & Protection	902-566-7793	902-566-7848	zahrndtp@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
David Cairns	Research Scientist	902-566-7825	902-566-7848	Cairnsd@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

ANNEX V

Press Release

ANNEX VI

Species Profiles

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

Common names for the alewife are gaspereau, river herring, sawbelly, or kiack.

 

Gaspereau (Alewife) Alosa pseudoharengus

1.1 Distribution

• The alewife is found in rivers and lakes along the eastern coast of North America, from Newfoundland to North Carolina, and the adults live in coastal marine waters 56 to 110 m (180 to 350 ft) deep. Landlocked populations exist in several Ontario and New York lakes. Since the Welland Canal was built in 1824, the alewife has spread throughout the Great Lakes.

1.2 Physical Characteristics

The alewife is a member of the herring family.

Here are some things to note:

• A slender, laterally compressed fish coloured greyish-green on the back, and silvery on the sides and belly;
• Gaspereau entering freshwater often have a copper sheen colour;
• A single black spot is present on each side, just behind the head;
• Each eye is relatively large and has an obvious eyelid;
• A row of scales, known as scutes, form a sharp edge along the mid-line of the belly which is how the alewife came to be called "sawbelly."
• The alewife in Nova Scotia is usually 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) long and weighs up to 340 g (1 2 oz). There is no lateral line.
• Another species known as the blueback herring is very difficult to distinguish from the alewife. They inhabit the same watersheds and have similar natural histories. Any reports of alewife probably include the blueback herring as well.

1.3 Facts on Alewife

• Alewife eggs, or roe, are canned and sold as a delicacy.
• Despite the many thousands of eggs laid by spawning alewife, very few offspring actually survive. In some populations, as few as three young-of-the-year fish migrate downstream for each female that spawned.

1.4 Fishing Facts

• During the spawning runs, commercial fishermen set large trap nets or enclosures called weirs in coastal rivers and estuaries to catch migrating alewives. Major Canadian fisheries are on the Shubenacadie, Miramichi, and Saint John Rivers.
• The catch is used for fishmeal lobster bait; petfood or it is smoked, canned, salted or pickled. Although tasty, alewives are not favored locally for human consumption because they are bony.

1.5 Natural History

• Alewife eggs are about 1 mm in diameter and are left to lie on the bottom or float with the current. Depending on the water temperature, the eggs hatch in about a week. After the yolk sac is absorbed the tiny, larval fish stay near the spawning grounds preferring shallow, warm, and sandy areas. They feed on tiny zooplankton.
• From August to October young-of-the-year (32 to 95 mm (1.25 to 3.75 in) in length) migrate downstream in large schools to live in estuaries and coastal areas. Adults overwinter at sea. Known wintering areas include Sydney Bight, and the Gulf of Maine. Alewives can live at least 10 years. Alewives are eaten by many species of fish and birds including striped bass, salmonids, smallmouth bass, eels, perch, bluefish, weakfish, terns, eagles, ospreys, great blue herons, and gulls.
• In the Maritimes the alewife spends most of its life growing in salt water, feeding mainly on zooplankton (tiny invertebrates that live in the water column). Beginning each spring, from April to July, large runs of adult alewives migrate up coastal rivers to spawn in freshwater lakes, ponds and streams (this movement from sea to freshwater makes the alewife an anadromous fish).
• Alewives also spawn in brackish water. Like trout and salmon, alewives use their sense of smell to return to the streams and lakes where they hatched. Female alewives usually begin spawning at age 4. Male alewives often mature a year earlier than females. About 75% of alewives entering Nova Scotia rivers are repeat spawners. Alewives can move into coastal areas in late winter but will not migrate into fresh water until river temperatures begin to warm. Males enter the river first. Alewives only migrate into freshwater during daylight hours. However, spawning occurs at night and can occur in lakes or in slow moving or fast mid-river water. A single female can lay as many as 250,000 eggs. After spawning many alewives die. However, those that survive return to the sea within a few days.