2015 Assessment of the Pacific Cod Stock in the Eastern Bering Sea
February 12, 2015
Relative to the November edition of last year’s BSAI SAFE report, the following substantive changes have been made in the EBS Pacific cod stock assessment.
Many changes have been made or considered in the stock assessment model since the 2014 assessment (Thompson 2014). Eight models were presented in this year’s preliminary assessment (Appendix 2.1), including four models requested in May and June by the Joint Team Subcommittee on Pacific Cod Models and the SSC, two models requested by members of the public, and two additional models. After reviewing the preliminary assessment, the BSAI Plan Team and SSC requested two models for inclusion in the final assessment: the base model that has been used for setting harvest specifications since the 2011 assessment; and another model that appeared in last year’s assessment and this year’s preliminary assessment. The author recommends retaining the base model for the purpose of setting final harvest specifications for 2016 and preliminary harvest specifications for 2017.