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Title and Description:
Stock Assessments of Fish and Invertebrates from the Northeast Coast of the United States, specifically, spiny dogfish shark, deep sea red crab, and black sea bass
The Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC) meeting is a formal, public, multiple-day meeting of stock assessment experts who serve as a peer-review panel for several tabled stock assessments. These assessments evaluate the status of important fishery stocks, taking into account natural variations in population growth as well as the intensity and history of commercial harvesting.  The SARC is an important part of the Northeast Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) process, which includes peer assessment development (SAW Working Groups or Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) technical committees), assessment peer review, public presentations, and document publication. This process has been in place since 1985, and has been successful in providing a forum for preparing, peer reviewing and reporting on stock assessments in the northeast region. Over 40 fishery stocks are managed in this region. The Northeast SAW is the oldest such assessment peer review process in the United States and has been used as a model in developing similar protocols around the US and in Europe.

As currently constituted, the Stock Assessment Workshop has three parts: 1) SAW working group meetings where the assessments are developed (or ASMFS technical/stock assessment groups when stock assessments are prepared by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission); 2) a high-quality peer review of the SAW Working/Technical group assessments by an independent panel of assessment/management experts, known as the Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC); and 3) presentation of results/reports from the SARC meeting to the Fishery Management Councils and ASMFC. The entire SAW process occurs twice per year.

The Plan Development Teams (PDTs) and Technical Committees of the Fishery Management Councils use the Stock Assessment Reports and the peer reviewers' reports (from the SARC), to develop management advice for the Fishery Management Councils that is consistent with existing fishery management plans.

ID:  59 Info. Type:  ISI
Estimated Dissemination Date:  8/15/2006
Contact Person: Rebecca Rootes  NOAA Locator

Date First Posted in Peer Review Agenda:  6/16/2006
Estimated Peer Review Start Date:  6/6/2006
Review type:  panel
Expected number of peer reviewers:  3 or fewer

Peer reviewers will be selected by:  a designated outside organization

Will the public, including scientific or professional societies, be asked to nominate potential peer reviewers?  no

Will there be opportunities for the public to comment on the work product to be peer reviewed?  yes

How?  Paper copies of the documents that are being peer reviewed by the SARC were available to the public at the SARC meeting.

When?  The 43rd SARC meeting occurred June 6 - June 12, 2006. It was open to the public and the public was permitted to provide comments during the meeting.

Will the agency provide significant and relevant public comments to the peer reviewers before they conduct their review?  no

Primary disciplines or expertise needed in the review:  Fishery stock assessment (use research surveys, fishery data, etc., to understand past and project trends in the population), biology, ecology, population dynamics, modeling (use of mathematical models to describe the population dynamics of actual stocks)

Comments on Peer Review:
Charge Statement to Peer Reviewers: in SARC43summary_report-July10_2006.pdf at
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/saw/saw43/SARC43summary%20report-July10-%202006-no-OQ.pdf

Final peer review report in SARC43summary_report-July10_2006.pdf at
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/saw/saw43/SARC43summary%20report-July10-%202006-no-OQ.pdf

Agency response to the peer review report in the Introduction of the Assessment Summary Report, 43rd_SAW_Assessment Report, at
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/crd/crd0625/

ISI work product:
43rd_SAW_Assessment_Summary_Report, at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/crd/crd0614/
43rd_SAW_Assessment Report, at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/crd/crd0625/