Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Stock Assessment Process August 2019 Sustainable and Cooperative Management of Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Stock Assessment Process Approved August 2019 A publication of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA15NMF4740069 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Commission would like to acknowledge the efforts of the two committees that have overseen the revisions and additions to this document – the Management and Science Committee and the Assessment Science Committee. This document was first approved in May 2015. August 2019 revisions include the organizational structure and information on committees of ACCSP as a program within the Commission; clarifying information on the roles and responsibilities of members on species technical committees and stock assessment subcommittees; and revisions to the general checklist for tracking commission stock assessments appendix that includes a more detailed timeline and expectations for each meeting leading to the completion of a stock assessment. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... iii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 BOARDS AND COMMITTEES ................................................................................................ 1 2.1 ISFMP Policy Board ............................................................................................................. 2 2.2 Management Boards and Sections .................................................................................... 3 2.3 Plan Development Teams ................................................................................................... 3 2.4 Plan Review Teams ............................................................................................................. 4 2.5 Advisory Panels .................................................................................................................. 4 2.6 Technical Committees ........................................................................................................ 4 2.7 Stock Assessment Subcommittees ..................................................................................... 5 2.8 Management and Science Committee ............................................................................... 5 2.9 Assessment Science Committee ......................................................................................... 6 2.10 Ecological Reference Point Working Group ..................................................................... 6 2.11 Habitat Committee ........................................................................................................... 6 2.12 Law Enforcement Committee .......................................................................................... 6 2.13 Committee on Economics and Social Sciences ................................................................ 7 2.14 Other Technical Support Subcommittees ........................................................................ 7 2.15 Special Issue Technical Committees ................................................................................. 7 2.16 Coordinating Council ........................................................................................................ 7 2.17 Operations Committee ..................................................................................................... 8 2.18 Advisory Committee ......................................................................................................... 8 2.19 Biological Review Panel .................................................................................................... 8 2.20 Bycatch Prioritization Committee .................................................................................... 8 2.21 Commercial Technical Committee ................................................................................... 8 2.22 Information Systems Committee ..................................................................................... 8 2.23 Recreational Technical Committee .................................................................................. 9 2.24 Standard Codes Committee ............................................................................................. 9 3.0 COMMITTEE TASKING ............................................................................................................. 9 4.0 COMMITTEE MEMBER EXPECTATIONS ................................................................................. 10 4.1 All Committee Members .................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Committee Chairs and Vice-chair ..................................................................................... 10 4.2 ASMFC Staff Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................... 11 5.0 MEETING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ................................................................................. 12 5.1 Meeting Announcements ................................................................................................. 12 5.2 Materials Distribution ...................................................................................................... 12 5.3 Roles of Chair and Vice-chair at Meetings ....................................................................... 13 5.4 Meeting Records .............................................................................................................. 13 5.5 Public Participation at Meetings ...................................................................................... 14 5.6 Meeting etiquette ............................................................................................................ 15 6.0 COMMUNICATIONS POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ............................................................... 15 6.1 Email Policies .................................................................................................................... 15 iii 6.2 Recordings ........................................................................................................................ 15 6.3 Webinars ........................................................................................................................... 16 6.4 Reports ............................................................................................................................. 16 6.5 Board Meetings ................................................................................................................ 17 7.0 STOCK ASSESSMENTS ........................................................................................................ 18 7.1 Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 18 7.2 The Assessment Process ................................................................................................... 18 7.3 Assessment Frequency and Benchmark Triggers ............................................................. 19 7.4 Data Confidentiality .......................................................................................................... 21 7.5 Assessment Updates ........................................................................................................ 21 7.6 Benchmark Assessments .................................................................................................. 21 APPENDIX 1. GENERAL CHECKLIST FOR TRACKING PROGRESS OF COMMISSION BENCHMARK STOCK ASSESSMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 30 APPENDIX 2. GENERIC TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................ 34 APPENDIX 3. EXAMPLE DATA AVAILABILITY SPREADSHEETS ...................................................... 38 APPENDIX 4. COMPONENTS OF THE ASSESSMENT rEPORT ....................................................... 46 APPENDIX 5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PEER REVIEWERS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT50 APPENDIX 6. ADVISORY REPORT OUTLINE ................................................................................. 54 APPENDIX 7. FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN OUTLINE ............................................................... 55 APPENDIX 8. FMP ADDENDUM OUTLINE .................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX 9. FISHERY-INDEPENDENT DATA USE POLICY ............................................................ 60 iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this document is to improve the functioning of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) by providing guidance to all Commission technical support groups on the structure, function, roles, and responsibilities of Commission committees and their members. This document also provides guidance on the Commission stock assessment process. 2.0 BOARDS AND COMMITTEES This section