List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decisions Not to Add Certain Species) Order — •
Cusk ( Brosme brosme ) The Minister of the Environment has recommended, on the advice of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that Cusk not be added to the List set out in Schedule 1 to SARA. In May 2003, COSEWIC assessed Cusk and classified it as threatened. The same assessment was resubmitted in 2006, following the referral of the matter back to COSEWIC by the Governor in Council. COSEWIC identified mortality from fishing, both direct and incidental, as the principle threat to Cusk. Cusk is primarily caught as bycatch in the Atlantic Cod, Haddock, Pollock and Atlantic Halibut longline fisheries, although it is also caught as bycatch in lobster and other trap or pot fisheries. There is currently no known way to exclude Cusk from trawls, longlines, traps or pots. Under the Groundfish Integrated Fishery Management Plan (“Plan”), a directed fishery for Cusk is prohibited and Cusk can only be landed as bycatch within established caps set out in the Plan for each fleet and area in the groundfish fishery. At the time of the 2007 Recovery Potential Assessment (“RPA”), Cusk bycatch was estimated at 900 tonnes per year. Since 2007, DFO has lowered the bycatch cap for Cusk to approximately 650 tonnes per year and implemented a number of other measures to manage Cusk. No other fisheries are authorized to retain Cusk. Cusk is also harvested under the Native Council of Nova Scotia’s food, social and ceremonial license and as a bycatch in food, social and ceremonial and Aboriginal commercial fisheries. There are no estimates of absolute Cusk abundance in Canadian waters. There is consensus that Cusk abundance has declined in the 1970’s and 1980’s. However, there is conflicting evidence as to whether Cusk abundance has continued to decline since the 1990’s. The COSEWIC status report relied mainly on trawl survey data (designed to catch haddock) that showed declines ranging from 60% to 95.5% in Canadian waters, with the largest declines seen in the Scotian Shelf region. However, there is evidence that the trawl surveys grossly underestimate actual Cusk abundance, as there are issues with the ability to catch Cusk in otter trawls and the fact that the trawl surveys do not sample the Cusk in its preferred habitat or depth. Analyses of the Halibut Longline Survey and commercial landings data in the 2007 Cusk RPA suggests that Cusk are still common and widespread and that abundance has fluctuated without trend since the mid-1990s. If the species were listed with a bycatch cap in the vicinity of 370 tonnes per year, additional costs would be expected to total $10.4 million per year in loss of profits for producers (i.e. fishing industry). These estimated additional costs were compared to a baseline scenario with a bycatch cap of 900 tonnes per year. Using a long-term period of 15 years and discount rates of 3% and 8% of the incremental costs, the total present value of additional costs for this option is estimated to be $123.9 million (at 3%) and $88.8 million (at 8%). DFO is committed to managing Cusk and has put in place a number of new management measures since 2007, such as the reduction in the bycatch cap to 650 tonnes per year. In addition, DFO will be implementing additional measures outlined below as part of the Plan to manage Cusk going forward. These measures include • Analyzing bycatch data to assess the conservation risks associated with levels of Cusk discards and implementing strategies to account for all bycatch and discards through the Plan, which will include the development of improved data collection and monitoring systems to support reporting for landed and discarded Cusk; • Amending groundfish logbooks to include a column for discards, to improve reporting of the quantity of discarded Cusk; • Developing an abundance index for Cusk, against which a quantitative evaluation of stock status can occur; and • Depending on the outcome of the abundance index, undertaking an assessment to determine the conservation benefits to Cusk o