Review Of Northeast Fishery Stock Assessments

The collapse of cod, flounder, and haddock fish stocks in the Northeast United States has caused widespread concern among managers and fishers in the United States and Canada. The diminishing stocks have forced managers to take strict regulatory measures. Numerous questions have been raised about the adequacy of stock assessment science used to evaluate the status of these stocks and the appropriateness of the management measures taken. Based on these concerns, Congress mandated that a scientific review of the methodology and data used to evaluate these stocks be conducted. In this volume, the committee concludes that although there are improvements to be made in data collection, modeling uncertainty, and communicating between fishers, managers, and scientists, the scientific methods used in the Northeast stock assessments are sound. Recommendations are made on how the stock assessment process can be improved.

The collapse of cod, flounder, and haddock fish stocks in the Northeast United States has caused widespread concern among managers and fishers in the United States and Canada. The diminishing stocks have forced managers to take strict regulatory measures. Numerous questions have been raised about the adequacy of stock assessment science used to evaluate the status of these stocks and the appropriateness of the management measures taken. Based on these concerns, Congress mandated that a scientific review of the methodology and data used to evaluate these stocks be conducted. In this volume, the committee concludes that although there are improvements to be made in data collection, modeling uncertainty, and communicating between fishers, managers, and scientists, the scientific methods used in the Northeast stock assessments are sound. Recommendations are made on how the stock assessment process can be improved.

Ocean harvests have plateaued worldwide and many important commercial stocks have been depleted. This has caused great concern among scientists, fishery managers, the fishing community, and the public. This book evaluates the major models used for estimating the size and structure of marine fish populations (stock assessments) and changes in populations over time. It demonstrates how problems that may occur in fisheries dataâ€"for example underreporting or changes in the likelihood that fish can be caught with a given type of gearâ€"can seriously degrade the quality of stock assessments. The volume makes recommendations for means to improve stock assessments and their use in fishery management.

U.S. marine fisheries contribute over $100 billion annually to the American economy and provide recreational fishing opportunities to millions of Americans. To continue enjoying these benefits, the Nat. Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. (NOAA) manages marine fish stocks to ensure their sustainable use. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for fishery conservation and management, including fish stock assessments to estimate the size of the population of a fish stock and to examine whether a stock is overfished and provide support for management measures. This report (1) identifies differences in the number and frequency of fish stock assessments conducted by NMFS' regional fisheries science centers and the causes of those differences; (2) identifies how NMFS sets priorities for conducting fish stock assessments; (3) determines the funding NMFS receives annually for conducting fish stock assessments; and (4) determines how NMFS makes funding decisions to support fish stock assessments. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand report.