Overview
My principal scientific interests and experiences focus on understanding as part of renewable natural resource conservation and management programs. I have been involved in a variety of interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantitatively assess how natural and human-induced stressors may interactively modulate harvested fish and shellfish population dynamics and influence . Examples include interactive effects of , , and on the sustainability of pelagic and demersal species exploited by commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries in marine and freshwater systems in North America (e.g., New England/Mid-Atlantic, the Laurentian Great Lakes, Flemish Cap) and Europe (e.g., Barents Sea, North Sea).
My recent work entails quantitative method (statistical and mathematical model) development and application to assess exploited living marine resource status, forecast sustainable yields, and evaluate management strategies (stock assessment and management strategy evaluation) by integrating large-scale survey and fishery catch sampling data at , , and levels in the context of ecosystem-based management. Here are some examples:
For more on my research: or or .
Links
Qualifications
- PhD: Biological Oceanography
City University of New York, The Graduate Center, - MPhil: Biological Oceanography
City University of New York, The Graduate Center, - BSc: Biological Sciences
DePaul University,
Publications
2026
- Published
Goto, D., Phillips, E., Phillips, G. A. C., Zimmermann, F., Carleton, L. & Hold, N., 9 Feb 2026, In: Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 36, 35.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Review article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Adams, G., Bartolino, V., Bartos, T., Broadbent, L., Villanueva, M. C., Cresson, P., De Castro, F., Eddy, T., Elvarsson, B. T., Gaichas, S., Goto, D., Jacobsen, N. S., Kulatska, N., Lentin, J., Lindmark, M., Planque, B., Diaz, R. R., Rolland, M. S., Solberg, C. A. & Soudijn, F. & 6 others, Spence, M., Strange, M. V., Thomson, M., Thorpe, R., Trijoulet, V. & Vinther, M., 4 Feb 2026, 8 ed. ICES Scientific Reports. 148 p.
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report
2025
- Published
Amaro, A., Rodriguez, H. A. A., Arai, S., Blasdale, T., Bouch, P., Carleton, L., Casla, A. R., Cooper, A., Rocha, M. C., Crespo, O., Danby, R., De Oliveira, J., Du Pontavice, H., Earl, T., Estev茫o, V., Faria, A., Soliman, R. F. A., Fischer, S., Ayer, C. G. & Goto, D. & 31 others, Hold, N., Ichinokawa, M., Kell, L., Kidd, P., Lambert, G., Maletzky, E., Marcussen, J. B., Vila, G. M., Massiot-Granier, F., da Silva, W. M. L., Miethe, T., Mildenberger, T., Miyagawa, M., Okuda, T., Ono, K., Peixoto, U., Prestes, L., Sanchez-Maro帽o, S., Santos, R., Satta, M. L., Sawada, K., Serra-Pereira, B., S酶vik, G., Tagliarolo, M., Taylor, M., Thompson, A., Velho, F. V., Vieira, R., Walker, N., Yagi, T. & Zimmermann, F., 28 Oct 2025, 104 ed. ICES Scientific Reports. 64 p.
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report
2023
- Published
Goto, D., 1 Nov 2023, In: Global Change Biology. 29, 21, p. 6018-6039 22 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2022
- Published
P茅rez-Rodr铆guez, A., Umar, I., Goto, D., Howell, D., Mosqueira, I. & Gonz谩lez-Troncoso, D., 1 Aug 2022, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 79, 8, p. 1302-1320 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D., Devine, J. A., Umar, I., Fischer, S. H., De Oliveira, J. A. A., Howell, D., Jardim, E., Mosqueira, I. & Ono, K., Feb 2022, In: Ecosphere. 13, 2, e3923.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D., Filin, A. A., Howell, D., Bogstad, B., Kovalev, Y. & Gj酶saeter, H., 1 Mar 2022, In: Ecological Applications. 32, 2, e2498.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2020
- Published
Goto, D., Hamel, M. J., Pegg, M. A., Hammen, J. J., Rugg, M. L. & Forbes, V. E., 1 May 2020, In: Ecology and Evolution. 10, 9, p. 3954-3967 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D., Dunlop, E. S., Young, J. D. & Jackson, D. A., Dec 2020, In: Ecological Applications. 30, 8, e02190.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D., Dunlop, E. S., Young, J. D. & Jackson, D. A., 1 Oct 2020, In: The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 101, 4, p. e01764
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article - Published
Bartolino, V., Berg猫s, B., Bjornsson, H., Brooks, M. E., Butterworth, D., Campbell, A., Cardinale, M., Carruthers-Taylor, T., Cervino, S., Chernega, G., Cole, H., de Moor, C., De Oliveira, J., Deroba, J., Die, D., Duprey, N., Fay, G., Fischer, S., Garcia, D. & Gillespie, K. & 38 others, Goto, D., Gras, M., Greenlaw, M., Haase, S., Hanke, A., Hj枚rleifsson, E., Howell, D., Kell, L., Kempf, A., Kitakado, T., Konrad, C., Kronlund, A., Lambert, G., Levontin, P., Mazur, M., Miethe, T., Miller, D., Mosqueira, I., Noble, V., Orio, A., Parma, A., Pastoors, M., Perez-Rodriguez, A., Pipernos, S., Plik拧s, M., Sparrevohn, C., Rohlf, N., Ross-Gillespie, A., Sanchez, S., Sharma, R., Siple, M., Solinger, L., Sparholt, H., Spence, M., Taylor, M., Thorpe, R., Wilson, A. & Winker, H., 2020, (ICES Scientific Reports)
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report
2019
- Published
Dunlop, E. S., Goto, D. & Jackson, D. A., 1 Oct 2019, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116, 40, p. 19995-20001 7 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Hrycik, A. R., Collingsworth, P. D., Sesterhenn, T. M., Goto, D. & H枚枚k, T. O., 7 Oct 2019, In: Journal of Theoretical Biology. 478, p. 128-138 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Bertignac, M., Bjornsson, H., Brooks, M. E., Brunel, T., Butterworth, D., Campbell, A., Cervi帽o, S., Deroba, J., Elvarsson, B. T., Fischer, S., Garcia, D., Goto, D., Gras, M., Hintzen, N., Holmgren, N., Howell, D., Huynh, Q., Jardim, E., Kell, L. & Konrad, C. & 12 others, Kraak, S., Kronlund , A., Levontin, P., Lordan, C., Mendes, H., Miethe, T., Mosqueira, I., De Oliveira, J., Pastoors, M., Pinto, C., Sparrevohn, C. & Taylor, M., 2019, ( ICES Scientific Reports)
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report - Published
Bartolino, V., Berges, B., Brooks, M. E., Cardinale, M., Cole, H., de Moor, C., De Oliveira, J., Devine, J., Dunn, M., Fischer, S., Goto, D., Hintzen, N., Howell, D., Jardim, E., Kempf, A., Kvamme, C., Maersk Lusseau, S., Mackinson, S., Mannini, A. & Miethe, T. & 12 others, Millar, S., Miller, D., Mosegaard, H., Mosqueira, I., Needle, C., Nielsen, A., Pastoors, M., Pinto, C., Rohlf, N., Sparrevohn, C., Trijoulet, V. & Walker, N., 2019, (ICES Scientific Reports)
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report
2018
- Published
Rypel, A. L., Goto, D., Sass, G. G. & Vander Zanden, M. J., 1 Dec 2018, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 75, 12, p. 2291-2301 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Pedersen, E. J., Goto, D., Gaeta, J. W., Hansen, G. J. A., Sass, G. G., Vander Zanden, M. J., Cichosz, T. A. & Rypel, A. L., 1 May 2018, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 75, 5, p. 733-745 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Howell, D., Bogstad, B., H枚ffle, H. & Goto, D., 1 Oct 2018
Research output: Book/Report 鈥 Commissioned report - Published
Goto, D., Hamel, M. J., Pegg, M. A., Hammen, J. J., Rugg, M. L. & Forbes, V. E., 8 Mar 2018, In: Mar. Freshwater Res.. 69, 6, p. 942-961 20 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2017
- Published
Goto, D., Roberts, J. J., Pothoven, S. A., Ludsin, S. A., Vanderploeg, H. A., Brandt, S. B. & H枚枚k, T. O., 31 Aug 2017, In: Environmental Biology of Fishes. 100, 12, p. 1587-1600 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2015
- Published
Rypel, A. L., Goto, D., Sass, G. G. & Vander Zanden, M. J., 1 Jun 2015, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 72, 6, p. 834-844 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D., Hamel, M. J., Hammen, J. J., Rugg, M. L., Pegg, M. A. & Forbes, V. E., 24 Jan 2015, In: Ecological Modelling. 296, p. 79-92 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2014
- Published
Scavia, D., David Allan, J., Arend, K. K., Bartell, S., Beletsky, D., Bosch, N. S., Brandt, S. B., Briland, R. D., Dalo臒lu, I., DePinto, J. V., Dolan, D. M., Evans, M. A., Farmer, T. M., Goto, D., Han, H., H枚枚k, T. O., Knight, R., Ludsin, S. A., Mason, D. & Michalak, A. M. & 8 others, Peter Richards, R., Roberts, J. J., Rucinski, D. K., Rutherford, E., Schwab, D. J., Sesterhenn, T. M., Zhang, H. & Zhou, Y., 26 Feb 2014, In: Journal of Great Lakes Research. 40, 2, p. 226-246 21 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2012
- Published
D, G., K, L., Dl, F., Sa, L., Sa, P., Jj, R., Ha, V., Ae, W. & To, H., 5 Sept 2012, In: Aquatic Biology. 16, 3, p. 217-227 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2011
- Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Jul 2011, In: Marine Environmental Research. 72, 1-2, p. 75-88 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2010
- Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 10 Oct 2010, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 67, 10, p. 1566-1584 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Apr 2010, In: Marine Environmental Research. 69, 3, p. 163-71 9 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Mar 2010, In: Marine pollution bulletin. 60, 3, p. 363-75 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2009
- Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Dec 2009, In: Marine pollution bulletin. 58, 12, p. 1909-15 7 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 30 May 2009, In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 66, 5, p. 836-846 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review - Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Dec 2009, In: Marine Environmental Research. 68, 5, p. 257-67 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2008
- Published
Wallace, W. G., Goto, D. & Seebaugh, D. R., 1 Jul 2008, In: Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 4, 3, p. 375-377 3 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2007
- Published
Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 30 Nov 2007, In: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 352, 1, p. 65-77 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
2005
- Published
Seebaugh, D. R., Goto, D. & Wallace, W. G., 1 Jun 2005, In: Marine Environmental Research. 59, 5, p. 473-91 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥 Article 鈥 peer-review
Activities
2026
WGMIXFISH-METHODS meetings allow members the opportunity to further develop methodologies in between advice meetings, whether they be case-study-specific or of general applicability across all areas.
15 Jun 2026 鈥 19 Jun 2026
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)The workshops will highlight strengths and weaknesses of different approaches for SDM and consider means to include complex interactions of drivers in time and space and effects of differing sampling methods. The work will attempt to develop a rationale for defining which habitats are essential to a population and its differing life-stages, as well as develop methods and tools to delineate habitat boundaries. In addition to modelling the distribution of species and habitats for selected fish/shellfish, the workshops will investigate the potential risk of impact on them due to key pressures arising from the cumulative effect of human activities, including Offshore Renewable Energy and climate change. Outcomes will support area-based management, conservation activities and restoration planning.
15 Jun 2026 鈥 19 Jun 2026
Links:
This workshop will establish the scientific basis for quantifying the seafloor contact of static fishing gears, enabling the "significant adverse impacts" criteria outlined in the EU Deep-sea Access Regulation (2016/2336) and FAO International Guidelines.
WKSTGEM is directly linked to a special request to ICES from European Commission (DG MARE) to provide advice in relation to VMEs. The work carried out by WKSTGEM will contribute to completing this task by evaluating and reviewing recent literature, developing methods to quantify effort metrics for different gear types and assessing the practical feasibility of the application of the proposed metrics.鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧
5 May 2026 鈥 7 May 2026
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Participant)鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婽his workshop鈥痑ims to conduct the analyses required to address the joint request on a long-term management strategy for saithe in Subareas 4 and 6, and in and Division 3a (North Sea, Rockall and West of Scotland, Skagerrak and Kattegat).
24 Mar 2026 鈥 26 Mar 2026
Links:
Working Group on Impacts of Warming on Growth Rates and Fisheries Yields (WGGRAFY).
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婽he ICES鈥 Working Group on Impacts of Warming on Growth Rates and Fisheries Yields (WGGRAFY) brings together worldwide scientific expertise to assess the impact of warming on fish growth, and the implications for fisheries yield, on a global scale.鈥
They develop statistical models to investigate growth patterns in commercial fish populations around the globe experiencing a variety of thermal conditions, ranging from cold upwelling regions (non-warming) to shallow regional seas experiencing strong warming. This comprehensive worldwide analysis will enable them to produce robust predictive models for forecasting the effect of temperature on future growth rates and fisheries yield. They will also assemble a global database of fish length-at-age data accessible the scientific community. 鈥嬧
2026 鈫
Links:
Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD).
WGSFD provides estimates of spatial distribution of fishing effort and develops further methods and indices, for example those representing fishing intensity and frequency. This includes indicators supporting advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)鈥. In the future the group will continue fostering the development of new methodologies and develop concepts related to the investigation of interactions between fishing and the ecosystem.
2026 鈫
Links:
Working Group on Mixed Fisheries Methodology (WGMIXFISH-METHODS) .
WGMIXFISH provides information for management advice and options which take into account the consequences of technical interactions in multistock, multigear fisheries.
2026 鈫
Links:
2025
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婥rab species represent some of the most valuable fisheries within the ICES area and fishing effort has increased in many of these fisheries. This requires assessments and management advice.
WGCRAB highlights issues regarding the impact of climate change on key crab species, stock biology (reproduction, recruitment, growth, and distribution), fishery discards and landings, assessment methods, and ecosystem impact of invasive crab species.
3 Nov 2025 鈥 6 Nov 2025
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)14 Oct 2025
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)The fisheries management plan (FMP) for sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in English and Welsh waters is designed to achieve sustainable exploitation of the stock in the context of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management. The FMP outlines management goals to meet specific objectives of the bass fisheries and sets out short- and medium to long-term actions plans to monitor and evaluate progress toward meeting these goals. One of the goals is 鈥渟ustainable harvesting of the bass stock in line with scientific advice鈥 (Goal 6). To achieve this goal, several alternative management objectives have been proposed through consultation with stakeholders.
This report first reviews the literature on a wide range of fisheries management objectives, and indicators/reference points and data needs to implement management measures to achieve the objectives. This is followed by identification of data gaps in applying alternative management objectives to UK bass fisheries and data collection recommendations to address these gaps.
Fisheries management objectives can be grouped into four general categories: 1) biological, 2) social/cultural, 3) economic, and 4) ecological/environmental. While knowledge and data to inform fisheries management have grown in recent decades, many fisheries around the world are still managed on single species stock assessments to achieve biological (stock conservation) objectives. Unlike stock conservation goals, the social and cultural objectives are poorly defined with no measurable targets in many fisheries, posing challenges in evaluating and achieving them.
To scope how different types of management objectives are implemented in practice, the FMPs of three well-managed fisheries from major fishing nations: 1) groundfish fisheries in the Pacific Region in Canada, 2) groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, USA, and 3) deepwater and middle-depth fisheries in New Zealand, are reviewed in depth. Although their management systems have in general adopted multidimensional management objectives that account for biological, social/cultural, economic, and ecological/environmental dimensions of the fisheries, insufficient data and knowledge gaps, especially in social/cultural objectives, still exist, impeding a routine integration of these objectives.
UK bass fisheries are currently subject to various management measures to achieve a stock size that produces maximum sustainable yield. This management strategy, however, does not explicitly account for social/cultural, economic, and ecological/environmental dimensions, and thus may fail to meet the multidimensional objectives identified in the FMP as required in the Joint Fisheries Statement 2022 and the Fisheries Act 2020. Still, like many other fisheries, insufficient data availability would pose challenges in adopting alternative management objectives for bass fisheries. Data gaps especially in recreational fisheries and their social/cultural contributions to coastal communities, climate change effects on biology, distribution, and abundance, and bycatch rates of both bass and non-target species would impede achieving the social/cultural and ecological objectives. Recommendations for data collection methods are provided to address these gaps. 鈥
Apr 2025 鈥 Jun 2025
Activity: Consultancy (Consultant)Working Group on Commercial Catches (WGCATCH).
The Working Group on Commercial Catches (WGCATCH) documents national fishery sampling schemes, establishes best practice and guidelines on sampling and estimation procedures, and provides advice on other uses of fishery data.
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧媁GCATCH aims to bring together the best expertise in fishery data, sampling design and analysis available in ICES community.
2025 鈫
Links:
2024
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婥rab species represent some of the most valuable fisheries within the ICES area and fishing effort has increased in many of these fisheries. This requires assessments and management advice.
WGCRAB highlights issues regarding the impact of climate change on key crab species, stock biology (reproduction, recruitment, growth, and distribution), fishery discards and landings, assessment methods, and ecosystem impact of invasive crab species.
4 Nov 2024 鈥 7 Nov 2024
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)Working Group on the Biology and Life History of Crabs (WGCRAB).
The ICES Working Group on the Biology and Life History of Crabs (WGCRAB) look at key issues surrounding crab species.
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婥rab species represent some of the most valuable fisheries within the ICES area and fishing effort has increased in many of these fisheries. This requires assessments and management advice.
WGCRAB highlights issues regarding the impact of climate change on key crab species, stock biology (reproduction, recruitment, growth, and distribution), fishery discards and landings, assessment methods, and ecosystem impact of invasive crab species.
2024 鈫
Links:
2021
Working Group on Multispecies Assessment Methods (WGSAM).
The Working Group on Multispecies Assessment Methods (WGSAM) aims at enabling research on predator-prey interactions for developing advice on the ecosystem approach to fisheries management.
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧媁GSAM covers both model development and their integration into practical management advice. It defines standards for models to advise on the management implications of multispecies interaction, promotes research for understanding of how foodweb and fishery interactions influence one another, establishes best practice in multispecies assessment methods, and aligns its work with emerging policy.
The group comprises experts from different regions experienced in various modelling techniques 鈥 including age-structured, age- and length-structured, and foodweb models.
2021 鈫
Links:
Methods Working Group (MGWG).
The Methods Working Group (MGWG) focuses on stock assessment methods.
鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧婽he objectives of MGWG are to improve existing assessment models and develop new ones, organize a collection of datasets, test the performance of new and existing models, and work on assessment-related techniques.
MGWG's work is aligned in projects that are oriented to fit in the format of multi-authored journal papers. The group identifies topics that are of general relevance and high impact in stock assessment methods research. Project management is organized on the MGWG GitHub site, where the research activities of the group can be followed.鈥
2021 鈫
Links:
2020
This workshop is the third in a series of workshops on guidelines for developing Management Strategy Evaluations (MSEs) within ICES, and was intended to explore some of the issues that arose out of workshops that actually developed MSEs for a range of ICES stocks since the second MSE guidelines workshop was held in early 2019. It is intended that results and conclusions herein be used to update the guidelines for conducting MSEs within ICES further.In addition to reviewing existing work, new analyses were prepared especially for this workshop under TORs c (risk and uncertainty), d (more efficient tuning in MSEs) and e (shortcut vs. full MSEs). TOR a covered reference points, and this workshop proposed a framework for calculat-ing reference points from simulation models used in MSEs when an MSE is conducted for a stock. TOR b considered how to handle alternative operating models when reporting results from MSEs, and the workshop made two proposals for how this could be done based on approaches used in other fora where MSEs are developed routinely. Under TOR c, some ideas were put forward based on comparing risk to an unfished scenario such that the inclusion of additional (realistic) uncertainty was not unduly penalised, and could be used to deal with the situation (e.g. for short-lived species) where risk in an unfished scenario was already close to or greater than 5%. There were several proposals for increasing the efficiency of tuning in MSEs under TOR d, particularly when computation time was a factor (e.g. when full MSEs have relatively complex analytical assessments imbedded in the management procedure being evaluated). These were based both on statistical techniques, and a method for identifying the Pareto-optimal solutions that focuses on trade-offs among competing objectives. TOR e (shortcut vs. full MSEs) was the most contentious, but nevertheless useful because it made out the way harvest control rule eval-uations (and more recently full MSEs) conducted in ICES compared to MSE approaches else-where more clearly evident, and highlighted alternative interpretations of the shortcut method. There was discussion of the pros and cons of the full and shortcut methods, including alternative views of how some of the shortcomings in each could be addressed.Several recommendations are made, including a dedicated workshop on reference points, con-sideration of more flexible MSE approaches (such as developing empirical management proce-dures), improving communication between scientists, managers and stakeholders when devel-oping MSEs, and a further MSE guidelines workshop that includes consideration of when per-formance of the HCR/management strategy is not as intended, under both the full and shortcut MSE approaches, as indicated by the results from the simulations.
26 Oct 2020 鈥 30 Oct 2020
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2019
WKNSMSE (Workshop on North Sea stocks Management Strategy Evaluation) took place over two physical meetings (19-21 November 2018 and 26-28 February 2019, but at ICES HQ, Copenhagen) and several WebEx meetings, was chaired by Jos茅 De Oliveira (UK) and included 30 par-ticipants from Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK and the European Commission, and two reviewers from South African and New Zealand. The purpose of this work was to evaluate long-term management strategies for jointly-managed stocks in the North Sea (cod, haddock, whiting, saithe and autumn-spawning herring) between the European Union and Norway, following a request from EU-Norway. The first physical meeting provided an ICES interpretation of the EU-Norway request, agreed the specifications of the MSE, decided on the tools and approaches to use, and developed a work plan, while the second meeting (and subsequent follow-up WebEx meetings) discussed results, developed conclusions, ensured the minimum requirements for conducting MSEs (developed by WKGMSE2) were met, and finalised the report. ICES were tasked to find 鈥渙ptimal鈥 combinations of harvest control rule parameters (Ftarget and Btrigger) for management strategies with or without stability mechanisms (TAC constraints and banking and borrowing scenarios). 鈥淥ptimal鈥 combinations were defined as those combinations of Ftarget and Btrigger that simultaneously maximised long-term yield while being precautionary (long-term risk3鈮5%). The request also asked for sensitivity tests once the management strategies were 鈥渙ptimised鈥. The approach adopted for all stocks was to include the assessment and fore-cast in a full-feedback MSE simulation, and to condition the baseline operating model on the benchmarked ICES assessment. The one exception was haddock, where it was not possible to include TSA in the full-feedback simulation because it was too slow to converge and requires manual intervention; SAM was used instead as a reasonable approximation. The approach also considered alternative operating models to capture a broader range of uncertainties. Full-feed-back simulations were computationally challenging and required the use of parallelisation and high-performance computing; it also meant that the time-frame for the work was extremely tight, and in some cases, analyses were restricted. Nonetheless, the work was completed for all stocks, and 鈥渙ptimal鈥 combinations for most management strategies were found. There were some no-table issues that arose through this suite of MSEs, including that some management strategies that were precautionary in the long-term could have unsavoury and avoidable features in the short term (depending on the management strategy), and that reference points estimated by EqSim were, in many cases, no longer found to be precautionary in the MSE.
26 Feb 2019 鈥 28 Feb 2019
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The purpose of the meeting was to bring up to date the methodologies and technical specifications that should be incorporated in Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) work in ICES. The workshop was tasked with reviewing recent methodological and practical MSE work conducted in ICES and around the world, as well as the guidelines provided by the 2013 ICES Workshop on Guidelines for Management Strategy Evaluations (WKGMSE). The Terms of Reference indicated that the revision should include all aspects involved in MSE, while paying specific attention to several issues that had been identified through ICES practice. The Terms of Reference also requested WKGMSE 2 to consider how best to disseminate the guidelines to experts within the ICES community and the need for training courses. The workshop addressed all its Terms of Reference.The main results of the workshop are the revised MSE guidelines, as well as recommendations in relation to the ICES criterion for defining a management strategy as precautionary and in relation to the evaluation and advice on rebuilding strategies.
4 Feb 2019 鈥 8 Feb 2019
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2018
A pelagic fishery for Sebastes mentella has developed in the Norwegian Sea outside EEZs since 2004. This fishery is managed by the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commis-sion (NEAFC). In the Barents Sea, where fisheries are managed by the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission (JNRFC), there had been no directed fishery for this stock from the 1990s until 2013. A new directed demersal and pelagic fishery was opened in the Norwegian Economic Zone in 2014. The 44th Session of JNRFC decided to split the total TAC among countries as follows: Norway: 72%, Russia: 18%, Third countries: 10% (as bycatch in the fishery protection zone at Svalbard (Spitsbergen): 4.1%, and international waters of the Norwegian Sea (NEAFC-area): 5.9%). This split was reconducted at the 47th session of JNRFC in 2017, but there is no agreement be-tween JNRFC and NEAFC concerning this split.
No management plan exists for this stock. From 1995 to 2012, the ICES advice had been no directed catch/lowest possible level. From 2013 onwards, the basis of the advice has been somewhat ad hoc and has varied (F0.1 in 2013, status quo catch in 2014, precautionary approach in 2015鈥2018).
ICES was requested to test a wide range of harvest control rules for this stock. The request is given in Annex 1 and the list of participants in Annex 2.
This working group was conducted by correspondence, with reviewer comments available after the draft report was finalized. We have therefore inserted some sections to address the comments and concerns.
Jun 2018 鈥 Aug 2018
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