Current methods for setting catch limits for data-limited fish stocks in the United States

This paper examines how the requirement for annual catch limits (ACLs) has been implemented for data-limited stocks in all federally-managed fisheries in the United States. The legal mandate to establish ACLs in the U.S. has spurred substantial scientific advances, including the development and adoption of at least 16 methods for establishing catch limits for data-limited fisheries. This study analyzed the assessment methods that form the basis of ACLs, those which determine the overfishing limits (OFLs) and the acceptable biological catches (ABCs). Nationally, 30% (150) of OFLs/ABCs are currently calculated using conventional data-rich assessment methods, 11% (59) using data-moderate methods, and 59% (295) using data-poor approaches. There is substantial variation in the proportion of stocks that are currently managed with data-rich versus data-limited methods across regions, and there are clear geographical patterns in the types and diversity of methods being utilized to calculate OFLs/ABCs. Data-poor methods are the most commonly used OFL/ABC-setting methods in the U.S., particularly in the Southeast, Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS), Pacific, and Western Pacific regions. The Southeast and Atlantic HMS regions use some form of catch scalar or an ABC of zero landings for each data-limited stock. The Pacific and North Pacific regions currently employ a higher diversity of data-limited methods than any other region; these include both data-moderate methods and data-poor methods. Regional disparities in data-limited method development and implementation are attributed to regional differences in the number of stocks being managed, the data types and lengths of the time series available, and the resources dedicated to data processing and stock assessment. Recommendations for improving management of data-limited stocks include establishing a complete inventory of all available data for each managed stock, dedicating resources and expertise to data-limited method development and evaluation, and developing a more streamlined assessment process to handle the expanded volume of stocks requiring ACLs.