In recent years, "good practice" guidelines have synthesized decades' worth of research by fisheries scientists to ensure standardization and consistency in future stock assessment. However, guidelines are not a one-size-fits-all approach. In this theme session, we invite speakers to share their “controversial” opinions about stock assessment, harvest strategies, and fisheries management. This is an opportunity to increase transparency, recognize practical limitations that act as barriers to implementing best practice, and share case studies of successes and challenges.
We invite contributions that fit into the following three broad questions:
- When are stock assessments too complex? This could include thoughts on data-limited modeling, spatiotemporal modeling, stock structure and definition, accounting for uncertainty, ensemble modeling, and more.
- How do we manage fisheries? This could include thoughts on reference points, forecasting, management objectives, management strategy evaluation, harvest control rules, qualitative advice provision, and more.
- When and how should socioeconomic and/or ecosystem factors be used in stock assessment? This could include thoughts of societal and economic considerations, practical implementation of ecosystem-based management, trade-offs in spatial planning objectives, climate change, and more.
We hope to challenge conventional wisdom, highlight innovative approaches, discuss solution-oriented case studies, and ultimately contribute to the advancement of fisheries science and sustainable management practices.
