Following guidelines developed by the Northeast Regional Coordinating Committee (NRCC), the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) is currently seeking SAW WG applicants for the benchmark summer flounder stock assessment. Applications are due by August 3, 2017.
Selection Process
Recently, the NRCC developed new guidelines on SAW WG formation and selection (see below). As part of this new selection process, all candidates for SAW Working Groups, other than the SAW WG Chair and Lead Stock Assessment Scientist, will now be required to fill out a questionnaire, on which the SAW Chair and the SAW WG Chair will base their initial set of recommendations. A spot on the SAW WG is available for the Council staff representative with responsibility for the stock. This representative should still complete and submit the questionnaire. The list of all applicants, as well as these initial recommendations, will then be provided to a higher-level decision committee composed of Deputies from each of the five NRCC organizations: NMFS NEFSC, NMFS GARFO, MAFMC, NEFMC and ASMFC. This decision committee will make a final decision regarding approval of each candidate.
Selection Criteria
Criteria to be considered by the decision committee will include independence, expertise, and education of candidates, as well as SAW WG size, composition and balance. Effective assessment workgroups typically consist of 4-8 members with a broad range of skills and proficiency and should include individuals from several disciplines. Applicant qualifications should be directly relevant to the particular stock they wish to assess.*
Timeline
- Questionnaire available to public: July 6, 2017
- Responses due back to NEFSC by: August 3, 2017
- Short list selected for SAW WGs by (target date): August 15, 2017
- All questionnaires and short list delivered to NRCC Decision Committee (target date): August 18, 2017
- NRCC decisions due to NEFSC (target date): August 28, 2017
- Public Announcement of Decisions (target date): August 30, 2017
Application Instructions
Please complete the questionnaire below and email to Sheena Steiner at sheena.steiner@noaa.gov no later than August 3, 2017. You may also mail the document to her c/o NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543. Please note that the questionnaire is posted in Adobe PDF format. If you would prefer to receive the document in Microsoft Word, or if you have any questions about the process, please contact Sheena either by email or at (508) 495-2177. Upon submission of your questionnaire, you will receive an email confirmation.
- Application Questionnaire (7/6/2017)
- SAW Working Group Formation, Participation and Function Guidelines (12/17/2015)
The Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) is a formal scientific peer review process for evaluating and presenting stock assessment results. SAW Working Groups (WGs) prepare benchmark stock assessments that are peer reviewed by a Stock Assessment Review Committee and then published. These stock assessments form the scientific basis for managing fish and invertebrate marine resources in the offshore US waters of the northwest Atlantic.