Stock status update of Browns Bank north scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) for the 2023 fishing season

Abstract

Advice on the status of the Browns Bank North Scallop stock is requested annually by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Resource Management to help determine an annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC, meat weight) in support of the fishery. The purpose of this report is to update the status of Browns Bank North Scallop with data from the 2022 Scallop survey and fishery (January 1 to December 31) to provide science advice for the management of the 2023 fishery. This Stock Status Update uses the assessment framework accepted during the peer-reviewed Regional Advisory Process of 2011 for Browns Bank North (Hubley et al. 2011). Updates have been conducted annually since, with the exception of 2021, which did not occur because the 2020 DFO Science Offshore Scallop Survey was cancelled due to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (DFO 2022). This update for the Scallop fishery on Browns Bank pertains to the northern part of the bank. Browns Bank South has separate management measures. This Science Response Report results from the regional peer review of April 11, 2023, on the Stock Status Update of Offshore Scallop: Browns Bank North and Georges Bank ‘a’.