Over Monday 28 November to Friday 2 December, the customary annual International Stock Assessment Workshop will resume post-COVID, and will be taking place at UCT (Mathematics Building, Room M212).

This year to date four international scientists have confirmed acceptance to attend as members of the Review Panel. Those confirmed are Ana Parma (Centro Nacional Patagónico-CONICET, Argentina), Andre Punt (University of Washington, USA), Mike Wilberg (University of Maryland, USA) and Nathan Taylor (ICCAT, Spain)

TOPICS

The primary topics to be covered for various South African marine resources are not yet fully finalized, but are currently provisionally as follows:

  1. Hake – How to best evaluate the impact of a spatial expansion of the longline fishery for hake, thereby creating ongoing competition for fishing grounds with the trawl fishery, on the CPUE for the latter and consequently on calculations of hake TAC recommendations
  2. Sardine – Review of the implications of new genomic and transcriptomic research results for sardine spatial structure, and the development of associated models of sardine population dynamics for assessment purposes.
  3. West Coast rock lobster – Review of the methods being applied to estimate the extent of poaching, and how to best address a mis-fit over recent years of the population model for the largest Super-Area (8+) to data from a fishery independent survey.
  4. Squid – Review of proposals for a revised population model to assess this resource.
  5. Sole – Review of proposals for a revised population model to assess this resource.

In addition, one session is planned to further discuss issues which have recently arisen in the ICCAT SCRS about aspects of assessment and the use of probability estimates in the provision of catch limit advice.

SCHEDULE

Discussion is planned to take place from 9 am to 5-30 pm each day, with two 30-minute breaks for tea at 10-30 am and at 3-30 pm, and a 90-minute lunch break at 12-30 pm – this is except for the Thursday afternoon which will be reserved for the Panel to prepare their report. A detailed schedule indicating which topics will be discussed and their times will be circulated in due course.

For the most part, discussions will be at a fairly technical level, however on the final day (Friday 2nd at 3-30 pm in room M304 of the UCT Mathematics Building, the International Review Panel will provide a summary of their recommendations at a level appropriate for a lay audience, and will be available to respond to questions from the attending audience.

DOCUMENTATION AND ATTENDANCE

Likely commencing Tuesday 22 November (possibly before), documents for background and for discussion at the workshop will be posted on the following website for prior download, as they become available: http://www.maram.uct.ac.za/maram/2022/workshop.

Attendees are asked to bring their own copies of documents (found on the website above) to the meeting as they will not be made available in other forms. However, for technical reasons, there may be some documents which cannot be made available in this way; if so, these will be emailed to those who advise attendance as requested below, and a limited number of hard copies of these will be available at the workshop.

Because of the need to maintain a workshop type interaction, chairs will limit discussion during each session primarily to panel members and selected key contributors who will sit at a central table. However, others are welcome to attend, and their interventions will be entertained in the discussions to the extent that time permits.

Inter alia for catering purposes, and for provision of some documents as indicated above, we need to assess/document likely attendance. Could those wishing to attend part or all of the event please send an email to Di Loureiro di.lapidoloureiro@uct.ac.za copied to doug.butterworth@uct.ac.za, indicating the topics for which you wish to attend (this is not necessary for those who wish to attend the final Friday lay summary session only).