Symposium Summary: Incorporating Ecosystem Dynamics in Fishery Stock Assessment and Management: Progress and Challenges

Sponsors: Marine Fisheries Section, NOAA Fisheries National Stock Assessment Workshop The goal of this symposium was to stimulate discussion on how ecosystem dynamics can be best incorporated into the fishery management process, in particular by developing stock assessments that are more responsive to major ecosystem fluctuations and shifts, including climate change. A total of 27 talks were presented by government scientists and academics from around the country. The keynote speaker, Anne Hollowed from NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center, delivered a presentation that examined how climate change and other ecosystem dynamics are being addressed in management of Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea fisheries. Subsequent talks further explored how environmental and ecological data could be used in the stock assessment and management process. Their foci included variation in species’ vital rates (reproductive potential, natural mortality, and growth) with respect to environmental covariates, multispecies models, the role of oceanographic and climate data in stock assessments, and the utility of state-space models. Two consistent takeaways emerged: ecosystem data could be used to (1) incorporate and evaluate natural mechanisms affecting fish stock production, and (2) adjust biological reference points and management measures to be more sensitive to changing conditions. This symposium was organized by the Steering Committee for NOAA Fisheries’ National Stock Assessment Workshop, which was held the week prior to the Annual Meeting.   — Jeffrey Vieser, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected] Read the symposium abstracts here.