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Abstract:
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A fisheries stock assessment model is a model of the population dynamics of a harvested fish species that integrates information from the fishery with scientifically collected biological and survey data. Model parameters include cohort abundance, natural and fishing mortality, and calibration coefficients. A realistic model contains those biological and human factors that play a major role in population dynamics. At a minimum, a historical dataset comprised of total removals, age or size information, and a relative index of population abundance is necessary. Current models provide for realistic changes in cohort abundance and fishing mortality over time. More realistic models are needed for temporal variations in natural mortality, either through covariates (e.g., disease and environment) or explicit incorporation of multispecies interactions (e.g., predator-prey).
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