Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Stock Assessment of Alaska Sablefish; Peer Review Meeting

NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to conduct a peer review of the agency's stock assessment of Alaska Sablefish (Anopoploma fimbria). The CIE is a group affiliated with the University of Miami that provides independent peer reviews of NMFS science nationwide, including reviews of stock assessments for fish and marine mammals. The Alaska Sablefish stock assessment is reviewed annually by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Plan Team, and the NPFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee. The CIE review will examine whether the assessment incorporates the best scientific information available for making management decisions and provides a reasonable approach to understanding the population dynamics and stock status of Alaska Sablefish. The public is invited to attend and observe the presentations and discussions between the CIE panel and the NMFS scientists who collected and processed the data, and designed the underlying model.