Peer Review Workshop For Regional Southern Flounder Stock Assessment Set

Staff with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a three-day, in-person workshop Dec. 12-14 with scientists who are peer reviewing a draft assessment of the southeast regional southern flounder stock.
 
The workshop will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New Bern Riverfront, 100 Middle St., New Bern.
 
The discussions begin at 10 a.m. on Dec. 12 and 9 a.m. on Dec. 13 and will be open to the public these two days. The open sessions allow the public to observe the peer review process, but do not include a public comment period.
 
The Dec. 14 discussions will be in a closed session to allow the peer reviewers to deliberate and complete a draft version of their peer review report, and for the stock assessment workgroup to address any outstanding tasks.
 
A stock assessment is a scientific analysis that uses information gathered from commercial and recreational fishermen and data from on-the-water scientific sampling and observations to determine the health of a fish population and predict how that population may respond to different management measures.
 
A peer review is an evaluation of scientific work by independent and unbiased experts. A peer review of a fisheries stock assessment evaluates the validity of the data used, the appropriateness of the assessment model used and the rationale of any assumptions used to determine if the science conducted is adequate for use in fisheries management. Peer review scientists have not been involved in or had input into the development of the stock assessment and have no stake in its outcome.
 
In the past, the division has not held in-person, public peer review workshops. This new peer review process is meant to improve the communication between the peer reviewers and division stock assessment scientists and to improve public understanding of fisheries stock assessments