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Review of Northeast Fishery Stock Assessments (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-6

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From page 1...
... In the early 1990s, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) stock assessments suggested that, in particular, five stocks (Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank cod, Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank and southern New England yellowtail flounder)
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From page 2...
... The committee examined these recommendations in relation to the Northeast fishery stock assessments, and concluded that most of the earlier report's recommendations are already being addressed by NMFS in these fisheries. The current stock assessment process, despite the need for improvements, appears to provide a valid scientific context for evaluating the status of fish populations and the effects of fishery management.
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From page 3...
... Current stock assessments suggest that fishing mortality has been reduced for four ofthe five reviewed stocks and that these stocks appear to be increasing. The fifth stock, Gulf of Maine cod, has not experienced reduced fishing mortality, and it is not increasing.
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From page 4...
... A valuable role for future stock assessments will be to investigate whether and how the effects of these management actions on both fishing mortality and stock size can be measured. FACTORS AFFECTING ABUNDANCE OF STOCKS Evaluating the relative contributions of different factors in driving changes in the abundance of fish stocks is difficult, but as mentioned above, fishing mortality played a major role in reducing the abundance ofthe five stocks in the 1980s and early 1 990s, and still does for the GulfofMaine cod stock.
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From page 5...
... Such improvements could include evaluations of sample size, design, and data collection in the fishery and the surveys; the use of alternative methods for data analysis; consideration of a wider variety of assessment models; and better treatment of uncertainty in forecasting, 2. Improve relationships and collaborations between NMFS and harvesters by providing, for example, an opportunity to involve harvesters in the stock assessment process and using harvesters to collect and assess disaggregated catch per unit effort data, 3.
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From page 6...
... To obtain the information necessary to design effective institutional and regulatory frameworks, it is essential that management draws on stock assessment, oceanography, ecology, economics, social and political science and operations research. Only when a more comprehensive approach is taken, with long-term management strategies based on data and insight from the various fields, properly accounting for the uncertainties surrounding data and theory, can fishery management provide for high continuing yield of food and health of stocks, while considering the needs of people dependent upon the fisheries.
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Key Terms

  • stock assessments
  • stock assessment
  • fishery management
  • georges bank
  • yellowtail flounder

  • england fishery
  • management council
  • fish stocks
  • maine cod
  • mortality rates

  • northeast fishery
  • five stocks
  • future stock
  • fisheries management
  • spawning stock

  • stock biomass
  • current stock
  • management strategies
  • stock size
  • management measures

  • mesh size
  • management process
  • low spawning
  • marine fisheries
  • reduce fishing

  • reviewed stocks
  • assessment science
  • stock collapse
  • predictive tools
  • scientific advice


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