Guidance on setting ACL's when only average catch is known

For many stocks, reliable catch data are the only data available for assessing population status.  For this document, only reliable catch stocks will be referred to as ORCS.  Without additional data, traditional stock assessment techniques cannot be applied.  There have been a number of alternative methods proposed for and applied to develop Total Allowable Catch, and now Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC), for ORCS.  Participants at the Second National Meeting of Regional Fishery Management Councils’ Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) discussed the pressing need to evaluate methods for setting ABCs for these stocks.  A Working Group was established to identify, share, and evaluate alternative approaches (regional, national, and international) for setting ABCs for ORCs.  Members of the Working Group represent seven of the eight SSCs, academic institutions, an NGO, a state agency, regional fishery management council staff, and five of the six NMFS Science Centers.  This talk will present the results of the Working Group.   This information can contribute to a common framework, established among regional SSCs, for setting ABCs for these ORCS.  Such a framework would need to incorporate flexibility allowing for regional differences in risk tolerance and preference of methods, but would provide a common foundation for all Councils.