North carolina state university proposes to improve fishery-independent data from the sadl and serfs components (the marine resources monitoring assessment and prediction program (marmap); the…

North carolina state university proposes to improve fishery-independent data from the sadl and serfs components (the marine resources monitoring assessment and prediction program (marmap); the southeast area monitoring and assessment program south atlantic (seamap-SA); and the southeast fishery-independent survey (sefis)) in the seus through field samplings, statistical analyses, and computer simulations. The proposed study aims to improve the fishery-independent data to better support stock assessment and management of demersal species in the seus. The specific objectives are to 1) assess and optimize the sadl survey design across three focal species (blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, and snowy grouper) with different spatial distributions across depth and latitude; 2) develop an approach to combine data (e.g., catch rates, compositions, life history) across the sadl and serfs surveys to provide better indicators of abundance, age/length compositions, and life history inputs that cover the full distribution of these species in the south atlantic; and 3) expand the use of biological samples to fill critical data gaps.