Peer Review Plans

Title and Description:
SEDAR 16, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico King Mackerel
This information product is a determination of the condition and status of the fishery resource stocks (South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico king mackerel) relative to definitions for overfishing and overfished status. The information includes impacts of various management scenarios on the status of the stocks, estimates of management benchmarks, and recovery trajectories for those stocks determined to be overfished. The information is provided to the appropriate regional fishery management council (South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean) to be used as the basis of their management decisions, which are subsequently approved and disseminated by the Secretary of Commerce through NOAA Fisheries.

ID:   93 Info. Type:  ISI
Estimated Dissemination Date:  9/19/2008
Contact Person:  Rebecca Rootes  NOAA Locator

Date First Posted in Peer Review Agenda:  12/16/2007

Estimated Peer Review Start Date:  8/4/2008

Review type:  panel
Expected number of peer reviewers:  4-10
Peer reviewers will be selected by:  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?   Oral and written comments.

When? During SEDAR workshops, including the review. During designated council comment periods and during Council SSC review.

Will the agency provide significant and relevant public comments to the peer reviewers before they conduct their review? yes

Primary disciplines or expertise needed in the review:  fisheries stock assessment, fisheries biology, population dynamics

Comments on Peer Review:

SEDAR, SouthEast Data, Assessment and Review is a Regional Fishery Management Council process, not a National Marine Fisheries Service process. The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils approved the Terms of Reference which specified the actual objectives of the SEDAR:
a) Data Workshop participants (Data.pdf),
b) Assessment Workshop participants (Assessment.pdf),
c) Review Workshop participants (Review.pdf), and
d) Guidelines (SEDAR Guidelines.pdf)

SEDAR consists of :
a) One assessment report, though there are multiple supporting documents. The core of what is being reviewed is the assessment report. The others provide detail that they may consult but are under no obligation or directive to formally review.

b) Four reviewers - 3 Center for Independent Experts appointees and 1 Council appointee

c) All reviewers receive the same information and review the same report.

d) The chairman compiles the reviewer report into one single cohesive document and provides a grammatical and factual edit. He does not prepare the report, and all changes are reviewed and approved by the panel.

Peer review report (not final): http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/Sedar_Workshops.jsp?WorkshopNum=16