Canada witch flounder (2J3KL, 3NO, 3Ps) - trawl

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Overview

The general purpose of the Canada witch flounder (stocks in NAFO divisions 2J3KL, 3NO & 3Ps) fishery improvement progam (FIP) process is to improve the likelihood that these Canadian offshore fisheries will pass a main assessment to receive MSC certification. Current markets for witch flounder include the USA for fillets and Asia for H&G, with future market opportunities in Europe. MSC certification will be key for future sales opportunities. The FIP endeavors to improve information about the stock assessment, recovery planning, and fishery information on both target and bycatch species.  Additional key goals for this FIP include habitat impact identification and improving management objectives and tools for the fishery.

There are small  directed quota fisheries for witch flounder in NAFO subareas 3NO and 3Ps. The fishery for the 2J3KL stock of witch flounder is currently in a moratorium.

The  Atlantic Groundfish Council (AGC) is an organization that represents the  >100’ groundfish license holders in Atlantic Canada. The membership of AGCan holds significant portions of the Canadian quotas for each of the three stock management unit allocations.  As the resource recovers from historic lows, the importance of a sustainable economic development of this expanding resource has never been higher. This FIP is a forum to plan for issues of sustainability to be resolved prior to assessment against the performance indicators of the MSC assessment framework. 

FIP Description 

The general purpose of the Canada witch flounder (stocks in NAFO divisions 2J3KL, 3NO & 3Ps) fishery improvement progam (FIP) process is to improve the likelihood that these Canadian offshore fisheries will pass a main assessment to receive MS

FIP Objective(s) 

The overall objective for this FIP is successful MSC certification of the fishery - individual FIP objectives expected to be achieved by October 2025 are:

  • Establish LRPs for 3Ps stock.

  • Develop stock projection capability for all three stocks, confirm stock rebuilding times.

  • Develop stock assessment model for 3Ps stock.

  • Develop/ implement a formal harvest strategy for all stocks

  • Develop harvest control rules that are robust to main uncertainties.

  • Produce a fishery footprint relative to both sensitive and less sensitive benthic habitat. 

  • Develop an integrated fishery management plan (IFMP) for the three witch flounder fisheries, addressing all elements for which PIs exist. 

  • Develop fishery-specific objectives and incorporate them into IFMP.

FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management
Start and Projected End Dates
March 2017
October 2025
Update 
Agency resources within both DFO Science and NAFO Scientific Council continue to be highly challenged in the post-COVID era. Stocks with higher productivity and/or directed fisheries garner higher resource priority over stocks which continue to struggle at lower productivity levels and stock growth. To better understand these challenges and how the AGC FIPs might assist, AGC has confirmed a meeting with DFO representatives and other Canadian NAFO Advisors in June to present an updated list of all outstanding domestic and NAFO FIP flatfish stocks (i.e. 3LNO American Plaice, 3NO, 3Ps witch flounder) actions including development of the fishery objectives (3LNO A. plaice; 3NO, 3Ps witch), harvest control rules (3LNO A. plaice; 3NO, 3Ps witch) and stock rebuilding timeline (3LNO A. plaice; 3NO, 3Ps witch). The objective is to better understand how and when FIP actions will be reasonably undertaken, if there is a need for outside (contract) resources, such that revised timelines can be evaluated with FIP action modifications where necessary. To address the pending action timeline expiry, the projected action date has been revised to October 2025.
Next Progress Report Due 
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Species 
Common Name 
Witch Flounder
Scientific Name
Glyptocephalus cynoglossus
Gear Type 
Bottom Trawl
Danish Seine
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 21 (Atlantic, Northwest)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Canada
Geographic Scope 
NAFO Subareas 2J3KL, NAFO Subareas 3NO, NAFO Subarea 3Ps
Country Flag of Vessel 
Canada
Regional Fisheries Management Organization
NAFO
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
234 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
285 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2023
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
March 01, 2017
11% 11% 79%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
C Some Recent Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Apr 2025
Target End Date
Oct 2025

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Atlantic Groundfish Council
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Steve Devitt
Email 
sdevitt@atlanticgroundfish.ca
Phone 
1-902 497-4586
Website Name 
Atlantic Groundfish Council
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
4161