Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Stock Assessment of Eastern Bering Sea Pollock; Peer Review Meeting

Resumo

NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to conduct a peer review of the agency's stock assessment of Eastern Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma). The CIE, operated by Northern Taiga Ventures, Inc., provides independent peer reviews of NMFS's fisheries stock assessments. The Eastern Bering Sea pollock stock assessment is reviewed annually by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Plan Team, and the NPFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee. The CIE review will examine whether the assessment incorporates the best available scientific information and provides a reasonable approach to understanding the population dynamics and stock status of Eastern Bering Sea pollock. The public is invited to attend and observe the presentations and discussions between the CIE panel and the NMFS scientists who collected and processed the data, and designed the underlying model.