Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division

Chief: Dr. Paul Rago Woods Hole Laboratory (508) 495-2341

The Population Dynamics Branch develops information and provides advice to resource managers on the current status and future trends in abundance and productivity of marine fishery resources off the northeast coast of the United States. The Branch determines the effects of management

alternatives on population sizes and yields of fish and invertebrate stocks and develops improved quantitative techniques for stock assessment, forecasting of resource trends, and ecosystem modeling. Additional research deals with mixed fishery and multispecies effects on yields and population trends of component species-stocks and on marine ecosystems. Other studies focus on the biology and/or fisheries for species of particular management concern, such as striped bass and Atlantic salmon.