59 research outputs found
âReal interestâ? Understanding the 2018 Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean
Considerations for management strategy evaluation for small pelagic fishes
Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is the state-of-the-art approach for testing and comparing management strategies in a way that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty (e.g. monitoring, estimation, and implementation). Management strategy evaluation can help identify management strategies that are robust to uncertainty about the life history of the target species and its relationship to other species in the food web. Small pelagic fish (e.g. anchovy, herring and sardine) fulfil an important ecological role in marine food webs and present challenges to the use of MSE and other simulation-based evaluation approaches. This is due to considerable stochastic variation in their ecology and life history, which leads to substantial observation and process uncertainty. Here, we summarize the current state of MSE for small pelagic fishes worldwide. We leverage expert input from ecologists and modellers to draw attention to sources of process and observation uncertainty for small pelagic species, providing examples from geographical regions where these species are ecologically, economically and culturally important. Temporal variation in recruitment and other life-history rates, spatial structure and movement, and species interactions are key considerations for small pelagic fishes. We discuss tools for building these into the MSE process, with examples from existing fisheries. We argue that model complexity should be informed by management priorities and whether ecosystem information will be used to generate dynamics or to inform reference points. We recommend that our list of considerations be used in the initial phases of the MSE process for small pelagic fishes or to build complexity on existing single-species models.publishedVersio
The benefits of workshopping graduate fellowships: a how-to guide for graduate students and early career scientists
Grant and fellowship proposal writing are key skills for professionals in scientific and research-driven fields, and early exposure and training in proposal writing substantially benefit early career scientists. Here, we present a framework for a student-led workshop for graduate fellowships that is built upon four years of implementation at the University of Washingtonâs School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (Seattle, USA). This framework was designed for applicants to the United States National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), but the workshop format is flexible and easily tailored to other fellowships. We describe the primary components of the workshop, the implementation of the workshop, and the major benefits as reported by participants at the University of Washington. The core of the workshop framework is a small group structure that facilitates valuable in-depth interactions among mentors and applicants. Â The primary outcomes of the workshop include improved writing and communication skills for graduate students and experience with peer review and critical feedback for both applicants and mentors. These outcomes are achieved while maintaining a reasonable time commitment for mentors. The workshop format is sustainable, promotes community-building within and across departments, and facilitates equal access to mentorship and resources for all students
SOME BODY MEASUREMENTS OF NATIVE-BORN WHITE CHILDREN OF SEVEN TO FOURTEEN YEARS IN DIFFERENT CLIMATIC REGIONS OF TEXAS1
Equilibrium reference point calculations for the next generation of spatial assessments
Fish populations with spatial structure inherently violate the assumption of a single well-mixed stock, necessitating the use of spatially-structured population dynamics models. Accounting for spatial structure accurately and easily is a major goal for the next generation of stock assessment software development. Reference points (e. g., limit or target harvest rates and their associated biomass) are inherent to stock assessments and are often calculated under equilibrium conditions. However, the calculation process can be challenging for spatiallystructured population dynamics models. We outline how to calculate equilibrium quantities within spatiallystructured models where density-dependence in recruitment is local. We compare those values to equivalent situations when density-dependence in recruitment is global, thereby extending the set of population dynamics models on which spatially-structured stock assessments could be based. Results suggest that our method for calculating reference points under the assumption of local density-dependence can be performed using a straightforward optimization routine, and provide clearer understanding of the effects of fishing on a spatiallystructured population. Finally, we address areas of research and development needed to integrate spatiallystructured population dynamics models within existing management systems
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