Merits of Multi-Indicator Precautionary Approach Management in a Male-Only Crab Fishery

Snow crab replaced groundfish fisheries as the primary focus of the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) fishing industry in the mid-1990s. Over the past three decades, management philosophies in this male-only fishery have shifted from promoting industry expansion to promoting industry rationalization to implementing Precautionary Approach (PA) management. Until the mid-2010s, there were regionalized management strategies characterized by higher exploitation rates in northern than southern sub-stock units along the NL marine shelves. However, in the late 2010s, exploitation rates were permitted to elevate to high levels across the entire stock range in association with a large resource decline, and evidence of biological harm through fishing emerged in chronically depleted areas. In 2019, when stock and fishery productivity were near historical lows, a multi-indicator PA system was informally introduced into the management of the resource. This event coincided with anticipated improvements in stock and fishery performance. This paper examines the extent to which the multi-indicator PA management system, focused on the promotion of both biological protection and maximization of fishing efficiency, may have contributed to recent improvements in stock and fishery status. A suite of indicators from areas implementing PA guidance into management in 2019 prior to the formal adoption of the PA system in 2023 suggest the system has been highly beneficial in promoting rapid recovery and improving stock and fishery performance metrics to levels matching or exceeding historical levels under similar conditions. We discuss the capacity of the system to better safeguard biological aspects of resource and fisheries productivity moving forward under a scenario of an expectant resource decline.