Highly Migratory Species Branch

The Highly Migratory Species Branch conducts stock assessments and related research on Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) to enable their sustainable management. The responsibilities of the Branch include: tunas, swordfish and other billfish, king mackerel, sharks, pelagic fishery bycatch and bycatch mitigation.

We actively participate in research and stock assessment activities conducted under the auspices of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and lead the United States scientific delegation to meetings of ICCAT's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. The HMS Branch is organized into two groups: HMS Fisheries Assessment and HMS Biology.

Rubric scores updated every 15m

	Type	Title
	Project	Billfish Length and Weight Conversions
	Project	Billfish Life History
	Project	Bluefin Tuna Life History (1972-1979)
	Project	Bluefin Tuna Life History (1994-1999)
	Project	Circle Hook analyses -- Hook Locations
	Project	Circle Hook analyses hook --- damage & dropback
	Project	Cooperative Tagging System
	Project	Hardparts Inventory for Ageing Billfishes
	Project	Popup satellite
	Project	Recreational Billfish Survey
	Project	Sharks
60	Data Set	Stock assessment model outputs for ICCAT (International) managed species
	Project	Tuna Genetics Mapping
	Project	tournament data SAI