Evaluation Of Fisheries Resource Data Collection, Analysis And Availability: An Example Protocol Using The Blue Crab : Final Report To The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee

The overall goal of this study was to provide a demonstration of a protocol for evaluating the efficacy of fisheries stock assessments by combining historical and current databases for the blue crab in North Carolina with recent advances in stock assessment techniques, modern ecological theory, and principles of sampling and experimental design. The specific objectives were to: (1) evaluate the reliability of historical and current North Carolin data collection techniques; (2) prioritize historical data sets in terms of analysis, interpretation and potential products; (3)identify management problems and major information gaps requisite to a blue crab fisheries management plan; (4)link specific data sets with appropriate stock recruitment and assessment models; (5)design a rigorous and efficient stock assessment program; and (6)suggest ways to make data available to potential users.