Stock assessments provide the best scientific information available for effective conservation and management of fisheries, as mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Fish stock assessments describe the past and current status of a fish stock, estimate population size or abundance, and predict how a fish stock will respond to potential catch limits and other management actions. Stock assessments undergo a peer review process before they are used in fishery management.
The Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review is a cooperative effort between the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, and NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and Pacific Islands Regional Office to improve the quality, timeliness, objectivity, and integrity of stock assessments and other scientific information used in Pacific Islands region fishery management.
The Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review framework defines roles and responsibilities, summarizes the scope, and describes the review schedule in coordination with the larger Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council process. Panelists review stock assessments in two broad categories: benchmark reviews and update reviews on an annual schedule. Panelists also review research track assessments through the Center of Independent Experts. The Center of Independent Experts was established in 1998 to routinely provide external, independent, and expert reviews of the agency’s influential science used for policy decisions.
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Benchmark reviews provide the first assessment of a specific stock or include significant changes to previous assessments, such as the use of new a type of model or the addition of new data sources and analyses.
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Update reviews include additional years of source data only (such as catch-per-unit-effort or other data from fishery-dependent or independent surveys) into the time series from a previously reviewed assessment. There are no additional changes to the model or the treatment of the data, including survey (catch-per-unit-effort or other) time series.
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Research track reviews encompass the review of the different modules of the benchmark assessment under development. These include, but are not limited to: the different data components and how changes in the assumptions and handling of these data components change assessment outcomes, and the modeling approach used in the assessment.
Research track assessments will not result in near-term scientific information for management consideration. Other products used for fisheries management, such as biological opinions, research programs, Endangered Species Act status reviews, and other key scientific documents, are reviewed through the Center for Independent Experts.
Learn more about Independent Peer Reviews from 2005 to 2013.
2021 Deep-7 Bottomfish in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Update Stock Assessment
2020 Uku in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2019 Territorial Bottomfish Stock Assessment
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2019 Guam Reef Fish
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2018 Kona Crab in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2017 Deep-7 Bottomfish in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2016 Coral Reef Fishes in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Benchmark Stock Assessment
2015 Kona Crab Assessment
Center for Independent Experts Desktop Review
2015 Length and Biomass Augmented Catch-MSY Assessment Methods
Center for Independent Experts Review
2015 Length-based Data Poor Assessment Methods
Center for Independent Experts Review
2015 Quantifying Bycatch in the Hawaii Deep-set Longline Fishery
Center for Independent Experts Review
2015 Territorial Bottomfish Stock Assessment
Update Stock Assessment
For more information
Earlier reviews from 2005–2013 are available online here: Independent Peer Reviews of Science in the Pacific Islands.
For additional information or supplemental materials, please contact John Syslo.
An oceanic whitetip shark swims near the surface of the water. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
A bidder checks the quality of tuna at the Honolulu Fish Auction. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Non-commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette off Maui in 2004. Homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii, NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is a multipurpose oceanographic research vessel that conducts fisheries assessments, physical and chemical oceanography research, marine mammal and marine debris surveys. The ship operates throughout the central and western Pacific Ocean. Credit: NOAA/Ray Boland.