January 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The Northeast Region Coordinating Council has approved the 2021 fisheries stock assessment schedule for management and research track assessments.
The management track assessments scheduled for 2021 are: Atlantic mackerel, golden tilefish, summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, bluefish, Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank haddock, and Gulf of Maine haddock. Management track assessments follow a routine schedule to provide the updated advice needed to inform fisheries management.
There are two research track assessments scheduled for 2021. Haddock (all stocks) will be peer reviewed in July in conjunction with the Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee, while Illex squid and butterfish will be peer reviewed in November. The Illex Research Track Working Group will have its kick-off meeting on Tuesday, January 5 at 1pm. The Haddock Working Group will meet on January 7 and 11, while the Butterfish Working Group is scheduled to meet on January 21. Research track assessments dive deeper into research topics needed to better understand the overall condition of one or more stocks.
Our fisheries stock assessments follow a robust, transparent and collaborative process that brings experts together to determine the overall health of a fishery. Stock assessments have many steps to ensure the best available science and information about the fishery are considered.