The natural resource management decision that will be addressed by this proposal is the determination of species-specific annual overfishing limits and acceptable biological catch limits (OFLS/ABCS)…

The natural resource management decision that will be addressed by this proposal is the determination of species-specific annual overfishing limits and acceptable biological catch limits (OFLS/ABCS) as mandated by the magnuson-stevens fishery conservation and management act. The determination of the OFL/ABC limits represents one of the primary management decisions required of fisheries resource managers at NOAA's southeast fisheries science center (SEFSC) and the gulf of mexico fishery management council's scientific and statistical committee (SSC). These decisions must be made for all harvested species subject to a fisheries management plan and be informed by the best scientific information available. This is usually achieved through stock assessments produced by SEFSC assessment scientists to model fishery dynamics and project future stock status. The accuracy of stock assessment OFL and ABC estimates is currently limited by: the accuracy of fixed assumptions made in the model DE