Discard Estimation Methodology Used for Northeast Groundfish Catch Share Monitoring

This talk will present an overview of the methodology used for estimating discards in the marine groundfish fishery in the northeast region.  Discards are part of the catch share allocation;  this necessitated a rigorous analysis to ensure an accurate estimate as well as an estimate that would not change dramatically over time, rendering catch share management difficult.  This talk will review how the methodology was selected, detail how discards were estimated at the very beginning of the fishing year, look at how the methodology performed during the 2010 fishing year including comparing discard rates for “sector” (fishing cooperatives) trips vs. non-sector trips, and discuss changes implemented for the 2011 fishing year.