2016 discard estimation, precision, and sample size analyses for 14 federally managed species groups in the waters off the northeastern United States

"This report describes the analyses associated with the discard estimation of 14 federally managed fish and invertebrate species groups during the July 2014 through June 2015 time period and the expected coverage needed by at-sea observers for northeastern US fisheries for the April 2016 through March 2017 period using the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology. An estimated 57,063 mt (125,803,405 lb) of federally regulated species were discarded during the July 2014 through June 2015 time period. The predominant species groups discarded were skates (Rajidae) and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias). Across all species groups examined, "No Market" was the reason reported for the majority of discards. Analyses also revealed that for fleets with observer coverage, the coverage within a fleet corresponded with the spatial and temporal patterns of fishing activity in terms of kept weight of all species. The discards reported in this document may not necessarily correspond directly with the discard estimates derived for individual stock assessments because of differences in stratification and data. Hence, the discard estimates are not definitive, but indicative of where discarding occurred among commercial fleets and for which species groups. The sea days needed to achieve a precision-based performance standard (30% coefficient of variation of the discard estimate) were estimated to be 10,746 sea days for the 14 fish and invertebrate species groups across 57 fleets. The sea day analyses used a standardized protocol to account for the importance of the discarded species relative to the amount of discards by each fleet and total fishing mortality"--Executive Summary. [doi:10.7289/V5Z60M1R (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5Z60M1R)] by SE Wigley, C Tholke, and G Shield. "April 2016." "Web version posted April 19, 2016." doi:10.7289/V5Z60M1R (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5Z60M1R) Includes bibliographical references (pages 13-15). 2016 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) Library http://doi.org/10.7289/V5Z60M1R Public Domain 1862