Assessment of the Pacific sardine resource in 2009 for U.S. management in 2010

"The Pacific sardine resource is assessed each year in support of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) process that, in part, establishes an annual harvest guideline ('HG', or 'ABC') for the U.S. fishery. The following assessment was conducted using the 'Stock Synthesis 3' (SS3) model, and includes fishery and survey data from updated and new sources. The draft assessment was reviewed by a STAR Panel 21-25 September, 2009, in La Jolla, California. During the course of the STAR meeting, modifications to input data and model structure were incorporated in the base model and are included in this report. The present draft was presented to the PFMC's advisory bodies (SSC, CPSMT, CPSAS) and the PFMC at their November 2009 meetings in Costa Mesa, CA. The outcome of these reviews formed the basis for U.S. Pacific sardine management in 2010. Reports of the STAR panel and PFMC advisory bodies are provided in Appendix II"--Preface Kevin T. Hill, Nancy C.H. Lo, Beverly J. Macewicz, Paul R. Crone, Roberto Felix-Uraga. "December 2009." Mode of access: World Wide Web. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Includes bibliographical references.