Adaptation responses of fisheries and fisheries managers to climate induced impacts on sockeye salmon returns to Barkley Sound, BC.

Transcription

1 Adaptation responses of fisheries and fisheries managers to climate induced impacts on sockeye salmon returns to Barkley Sound, BC. Diana Dobson, Wilf Luedke and Kim Hyatt 1

2 Outline 1. Management context the stocks and fishery 2. Climate impacts on the stocks and fishery. 3. Why traditional stock assessment methods and harvest management approaches are generally inadequate to cope with the increased variation / lack of predictably observed under climate change scenarios. 4. Key features of the Barkley sockeye fishery management system that have enabled more of an adaptive response to these outcomes. 5. Challenges and Conclusion. 2

3 Geography: nursery lakes, fishery locations 3

4 Sockeye salmon have a complex life history and rely on different ecosystems during their life cycle. Freshwater lakes are used for spawning and rearing Rivers are the migration route to spawning lakes Marine systems are used for rearing and migration 4

5 Mixed gear, mixed sector fisheries First Nation Fisheries: Maanulth Treaty Food, Social, Ceremonial Economic Opportunity Recreational Fishery Commercial Fisheries: Seine and Gillnet 5

6 The fishery intercepts mixed stocks with different levels of productivity Great Central Sproat Adult Spawners Adult Spawners Upper Benchmark Upper Benchmark Lower Benchmark Lower Benchmark Brood Year Brood Year Henderson Adult Spawners Brood Year Upper Benchmark Lower Benchmark 6

7 The key point: Barkley sockeye stocks and fisheries are already a complex system to assess and manage given: The life history of the target stocks and their use of various ecosystems during their life history. The complexity of the fishery (mixed sector, mixed gear, mixed stocks). Climate induced impacts on the stocks are only making it more complex to assess and manage. 7

8 Climate impacts observed in freshwater habitat such as Increased magnitude and frequency of flood and drought conditions in rivers used for migration and spawning. 8

9 Fishery management issues related to increasing drought and flood magnitude and frequency: Low flow/high temperature extremes: Delayed migration rate from marine environment to freshwater Increased pre-spawn mortality Extreme flood events: Increased migration rate, earlier run timing Loss of infrastructure (e.g. damage to fishways, loss of assessment equipment) 9

10 The marine survival rate of juvenile sockeye is related to large-scale climate variation in the Pacific: 4 Southern Oscillation Index 20 Sckeye survival index Avg. SOI (Jan to May) Z-score Somass sockeye survival Smolt Year 10

11 Over the last 3 decades there has been a general decline in productivity and resulting production : e Barkley Sockeye Run Size e Recruits per Spawner e 0 e -1 Run Size e Brood Year Return Year However, over the last few brood cycles we ve observed increased magnitude in the variation in recruitment and production near record low and record high returns. 11

12 Traditional approaches used to assess stocks and manage fisheries need to adapt in order to deal with climate change. Climate change impacts fundamentally challenge the assumptions of our assessment, management and regulatory models. For example: Non- stationarity and/or ecological interactions such (cumulative and/or cascading effects) affect the reliability of stock status assessments and forecasting. Changes in run timing and migration patterns break down in-season forecasting and fishery impact models. 12

13 Precautionary Approach For fisheries, the application of the precautionary approach has focused on overfishing scenarios. However, this application is limited as a response to the potential impacts of climate change: Fishery reference points are often not robust to climate-induced changes in productivity and/or Do not fully take into account sources of uncertainty associated with climate change scenarios (such as distributional changes in stocks). 13

14 Traditional stock assessment and management is not integrated The productivity of salmon populations is obviously affected by the status of the freshwater ecosystems they spawn and rear in. However, it s been hard enough to incorporate habitat or ecosystem status assessments into the work we do let alone account for the cumulative and/or cascading effects that may be associated with climate impacts. 14

15 Stakeholder Engagement / Governance Issues Failure to influence or convince stakeholders to adapt fishery systems Ineffective science transfer Failure to listen to broader viewpoints Lack of incentives Scale issues e.g. regional v. local management Fisheries are often managed larger scales than ecological systems (e.g. commercial licence groups) Inflexible regulations that cannot respond to rapid change or new scenarios Jurisdictional issues 15

16 Area 23 Harvest Committee We use a co-management approach to better manage these fisheries and reduce conflict among harvesters. The fundamental conflict was related to access and allocation, but climate induced changes were exacerbating the issues. 16

17 Co-management Co-management is defined as a process whereby the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for sustainable fisheries and resource management are shared between DFO, First Nations, and other levels of government and stakeholders. State Management Consultation Co- Management Delegate Authority Information out Advice in Shared responsibility Shared evaluation Shared decision-making 17

18 The flexible governance system and integrated assessment approach used to co-manage Barkley sockeye fisheries has enabled fishers and resource managers to adapt to climate induced changes on sockeye returns. Some actions are deliberate, such as reducing the allowable harvest rate in the early part of the run or adapting fishing plans in response to environmental indicators. Other adaptations are the development of a sound planning process that builds understanding, through shared decision making and promotes increased accountability. 18

19 Harvesters have Developed a comprehensive integrated fisheries management plan in cooperation with DFO. Found consensus-based solutions to longstanding access and allocation issues. Began investing in stock assessment and habitat stewardship activities. Participate in risk-assessment processes to inform larger planning issues. Achieved unconditional MSC (third party) fishery certification. 19

20 What makes the process work Upholding principles of Flexibility Transparency Inclusiveness Establishing trust and building relationships (takes time) Effective science transfer to inform decisionmaking Bulletins, presentations, etc. Use of scenario-building to inform planning and manage risk N.b. WE VE had to adapt i.e. how we present, share information and provide scientific advice. 20

21 Science transfer to support decision making is different than supporting decision-makers. 21

22 Many challenges remain Issues related to scale (governance and scientific analysis). Institutional resistance to devolving authority in a co-management process Analytical problems related to integrating information from different sources (e.g. use traditional knowledge, data quality issues, interdisciplinary issues, etc.) Defining management responses to increasing uncertainty and complexity. 22

23 Conclusions In our experience, a key component of the success in adapting the fisheries to climate induced impacts on Barkley Sound sockeye salmon returns is the comanagement process. However, addressing on-going challenges and implementing this approach elsewhere will require: Significant changes in fishery governance systems to support these type of decision making processes. Continued development of integrated assessment approaches and effective science transfer to support adaptive decision-making. 23