Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries

Commission

Benchmark Stock Assessment Tracker

Stock assessments inform our fisheries management process by estimating fish populations and fishing impacts to ensure sustainability. Our assessment process includes two types of assessments – benchmarks and updates. This page focuses on benchmark assessments and is intended to be a resource for stakeholders to track benchmark assessment development and where we are in the assessment process.

Benchmark stock assessment development generally includes three types of workshops and a peer review. In some cases, there may be multiple workshops or working meetings within each of the workshop categories or stages. The workshops are open to the public and are guided by defining clear goals, products, and individual responsibilities for the participants involved. Participants include Commission staff, state and federal biologists, and stock assessment scientists that make up the Commissions’ species technical committees and stock assessment subcommittees.

For species that are jointly or cooperatively managed with one of the Regional Fishery Management Councils (i.e., summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, bluefish, winter flounder, Atlantic herring, and Spanish mackerel) or NOAA Fisheries (i.e., coastal sharks), our federal partners take the lead in assessing the status of those stocks. These assessments are conducted either through NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) for northern and Mid-Atlantic species, SouthEast Data Assessment and Review (SEADR) for southern species, and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) for coastal sharks. The Commission often works with the NEFSC or SEDAR for the peer review portion of our process. It should be noted that the NEFSC stock assessment process has two types of assessments – a research track assessment and a management track assessment. The research track is most like our benchmark assessment process while the management track is similar to our stock assessment update.

See Current Stock Status
See Stock Assessment Schedule

Benchmark Stock Assessment Process

1

Data Workshop

Participants review all available data sources and identify datasets to be incorporated in the stock assessment. Sometimes this workshop can extend over several meetings.

2

Methods Workshop

After a decision has been made about which datasets will be included, participants conduct a methods assessment workshop to examine all available models and determine which models best suit the assessment. In some cases, the Commission will issue a press release welcoming the submission of alternative models to be conserved for use in the assessment.

3

Assessment Workshop

Following the determination of which models will be used in the assessment, a final assessment workshop focuses on performing the actual assessment. Terms of reference (aka TORs), previously approved by the board, define the tasks needed to be addressed by the assessment. This workshop usually occurs over several days. The Commission routinely issues press releases well in advance of the assessment workshop and peer review.

4

Peer Review

The assessment, including the data and methods used, is reviewed by an external panel of independent fisheries science experts to provide a judgement on the value and appropriateness of the stock assessment for use in management, as well as recommendations for future research and assessment improvements. The peer review does not provide specific management recommendations.

The panel is also guided by TORs (these may sometimes differ from those of the assessment) to conduct the review of the assessment.

5

Consideration by Management Board

The findings of assessment and peer review are presented to the Management Board. If the peer review panel endorses and the Management Board accepts the stock assessment for management use, the results can then be used to make adjustments to management measures based on the stock status determined by the assessment.

Ongoing Benchmark Stock Assessments

A benchmark stock assessment is a full analysis and review of the stock condition, focusing on the consideration of new data sources and newer or improved assessment models. This type of assessment is generally conducted every three to five years and undergoes a formal peer-review process by a panel of independent, fisheries scientists that have expertise in that specific fish species or in the models that are used in the assessment. These are lengthier assessments that are prompted by potential new fisheries management actions, a major change in the models or datasets, or when a set number of years have passed since the last assessment.

Atlantic Croaker

At the Commission’s 2023 Winter Meeting, the Sciaenids Management Board approved the Terms of Reference (TOR) and initiated the development of an Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment. The goal of the assessment is to evaluate the health of the population along the Atlantic coast and inform management of this species. Following this approval, the Commissions’ Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee (TC), Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS), and Commission staff began work on the benchmark assessment.

Benchmark stock assessment process timeline highlighting phase 5
The findings of the Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report will be presented to the Sciaenids Board (stage 5) in November at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in Newport, RI.

Assessment Process Stages

Data Workshop — May 15-17, 2023

  • Press Release: ASMFC Begins Preparations for Spot, Atlantic Croaker, and Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessments
  • Meeting Location: The Data Workshop was a virtual meeting.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public had two opportunities to participate in the workshop: submit data sources for consideration for inclusion in the assessment and listen to the workshop. Requested data sources included data on growth, maturation, migration, tagging, natural mortality, environmental impacts, abundance/biomass, and fishery removals. Data on discards, including size information, and bycatch in fisheries targeting other species were identified as an essential need for the assessment. For data sets to be considered, the data needed to be sent in the required format, with accompanying description of methods by March 15, 2023. The Data Workshop was open to the public and attendees joined as observers online. If time permitted, public comment was taken at the discretion of the SAS Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Data Workshop was the first in a series of workshops to develop the next Atlantic croaker benchmark stock assessment. Attendees reviewed all available data sources for Atlantic croaker.
    • The SAS selected which data sources would be used in the stock assessment. For this assessment, the SAS selected sources of fishery removals (harvest and discards), indices of abundance, and biological data collected in fishery-dependent and fishery-independent monitoring programs.
    • Additionally, the SAS identified data analyses to conduct following the workshop to prepare data for input into stock assessment models. The SAS discussed continued development of the integrated Stock Synthesis (SS) model used for Atlantic croaker in the previous 2017 assessment.

Methods Workshop

  • A Methods Workshop was not held for the Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment, as the primary method to pursue during the stock assessment (SS) was determined during the Data Workshop. Instead, two Assessment Workshops were held to continue development of the SS models.

Assessment Workshop I — September 11-14, 2023

  • Press Release: A press release was not issued for this workshop.
  • Meeting Location: The Assessment Workshop was a virtual meeting; accessible online.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needed to show and discuss confidential data, observers were asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The first Assessment Workshop was held to review model inputs generated following the Data Workshop, such as discard estimates, including shrimp trawl discard estimates, length composition data, commercial catch-per-unit-effort, and life history parameters. The SAS also developed plans for addressing several non-assessment modeling TORs, including environmental influence analyses and continued development of the Traffic Light Analysis and other index-based methods for comparison to assessment model results. Lastly, the SAS continued development of the SS model, including identification of configuration changes since the 2017 assessment.
    • The SAS made progress with the many decisions that go into the development and configuration of an assessment model for Atlantic croaker.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting(s): Following the Assessment Workshop, the SAS held check-in calls throughout October and November 2023. The meetings were held online and open to the public. Development of the SS models continued by the lead analysts with modeler calls held approximately every two weeks to troubleshoot any issues.

Assessment Workshop II — March 2-6, 2026

  • Press Release: Atlantic Croaker Stock Assessment Workshop Scheduled
  • Meeting Location: The Assessment Workshop was an in-person meeting; accessible at the Commission’s office in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needed to show and discuss confidential data, observers were asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The second Assessment Workshop was held to evaluate the assessment models and analyses that were conducted to evaluate stock status.
    • The SAS finalized most aspects of the two assessment models at the workshop, and several additional analyses were identified by the SAS to be completed in preparation for Peer Review.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting(s): Following the Assessment Workshop, the TC met to review the Benchmark Stock Assessment before it was submitted for peer review. The meeting was held online and open to the public.

Peer Review — July 27-30, 2026

  • Press Release: Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment Peer Review Scheduled
  • Meeting Location: The Peer Review was a hybrid meeting: accessible online and in-person at the Commission’s office in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the Review Panel Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • At the meeting, an independent panel of experts in fisheries science (Peer Review Panel) assessed the value and appropriateness of the stock assessment for use in management and provided recommendations for future research and assessment improvements. In its evaluation, the Peer Review Panel addressed its own set of TORs, including evaluation of the quality of the data, the appropriateness of the modeling techniques and assumptions made, conclusions on stock status, as well as how well the assessment addresses other factors such as environmental impacts.
    • A report from the Peer Review Panel was developed addressing each TOR. The Panel provided recommendations for improving the next benchmark assessment.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: Following the Peer Review Workshop, the TC met to review the Peer Review Report before it was submitted for Board Consideration and to discuss projections.

Consideration by Management Board — November 9, 2026

  • Press Release: A press release on the findings of the Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report will be issued following the presentation of the assessment and peer review findings/recommendations to the Sciaenids Management Board at the Commission’s 84th Annual Meeting in November 9-12, 2026. At that time, the Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use, as well as considering possible next steps for management.
  • Meeting Location: The Commission’s 2026 Annual Meeting will be a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Hotel Viking in Newport, RI.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public have two opportunities to participate in the Board consideration of the Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report: submit public comment prior to the meeting for inclusion in the Board’s meeting materials and attend the meeting. The Sciaenids Management Board meeting will be open to the public. Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to addend the Board meeting in person or online. If time permits, public comment and the opportunity to ask questions will be available at the discretion of the Board Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Sciaenids Management Board (consisting of Commissioners from New Jersey to Florida) will receive presentations from the SAS Chair and Chair of the Peer Review Panel on the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Panel Report. (These documents will be included as part of Board’s materials, which will be made publicly available as part of the 2026 Annual Meeting materials.) The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use. If accepted, the Board may consider a management response at this meeting or a later board meeting, if necessary.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: The South Atlantic Advisory Panel (AP) will meet to review the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, and a synopsis of the Management Board’s deliberations and action(s) on the assessment. The meeting will be held online and open to the public. The AP is welcome to provide feedback to the Board on the report.
Atlantic Striped Bass

At the Commission’s 2025 Spring Meeting, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the upcoming benchmark stock assessment. Following this approval, the Commissions’ species Technical Committee (TC), Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS), Tagging Subcommittee (TSC), and Commission staff began work on the benchmark assessment. The goal of the assessment is to evaluate the condition of the Atlantic striped bass stock from Maine to North Carolina and inform the management of that stock.

Benchmark stock assessment process timeline highlighting phase 3
The Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment is in the Assessment Workshop phase (stage 3) of the development process. The Assessment Workshop occurred in Summer 2026.

Assessment Process Stages

Data Workshop — October 6-9, 2025

  • Press Release: Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment Scheduled
  • Meeting Location: The Data Workshop was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Hyatt Centric in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public had two opportunities to participate in the workshop: submit data sources for consideration for inclusion in the assessment and attend the workshop. Requested data sources included information on landings and discards, catch per unit effort, biological samples (length or age frequency), life history information (growth, maturity, fecundity, natural mortality), and telemetry data along the Atlantic coast. For data sets to be considered at the workshop, data needed to be sent in with accompanying methods description by September 30, 2025. The Data Workshop was open to the public and attendees joined as observers either online or in-person. If time permitted, public comment was taken at the discretion of the SAS Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Data Workshop was the first in a series of workshops to develop the next benchmark stock assessment. The TC, TSC, and SAS reviewed all available data sources for Atlantic striped bass and identified data sets to be incorporated in the stock assessment.
    • The TC, TSC, and SAS selected which data sources would be used in the stock assessment. For this assessment, the TC and SAS selected 2 new models for committee members to further develop in preparation for review at the Methods Workshop.

Methods Workshop — March 11-13, 2026

  • Press Release: A press release was not issued for this workshop.
  • Meeting Location: The Methods Workshop was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at the Commission’s office in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needed to show and discuss confidential data, observers were asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • This workshop focused on evaluation of models and analyses developed to estimate stock status, with the SAS making final selections regarding data to be included in each stock assessment models.
    • The SAS also evaluated preferred methods for a single area model and spatially-explicit model, including regional and temporal structure.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: The Atlantic Striped Bass Tagging Subcommittee (TSC) Methods Webinar occurred on January 15-16, 2026. The meeting was held online and open to the public, and a meeting summary was developed.

Assessment Workshop —August 24-28, 2026

  • Press Release: ASMFC Stock Assessment Happenings
  • Meeting Location: The Assessment Workshop was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at the Commission’s office in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needed to show and discuss confidential data, observers were asked to leave the room or webinar to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The workshop focused on the evaluation of data inputs, stock assessment models, and analyses used to estimate stock status.
    • The outcome of the workshop included determining preferred modeling approaches for a single area and spatially-explicit stock assessment model. Additionally, the Stock Assessment Subcommittee finalized important data decisions including a revised estimate of release mortality for recreational fishery and new methods to better describe commercial discards.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meetings: The TSC Webinar was held on July 22 and July 27, 2026, via a publicly accessible webinar. The SAS will meet monthly to review the stock assessment models before finalizing the models for peer review. The TC will meet to review the benchmark stock assessment before it is submitted for peer review. The meetings will be held online and are open to the public.

Peer Review — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The peer review is expected to occur in May or June 2027.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to attend the workshop in-person or listen online. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the Review Panel Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • At the meeting, an independent panel of experts in fisheries science (Peer Review Panel) will assess the value and appropriateness of the stock assessment for use in management and provide recommendations for future research and assessment improvements. In its evaluation, the Peer Review Panel will address TORs, which is a list of questions about the quality of the data, the appropriateness of the modeling techniques and assumptions made, conclusions on stock status, as well as how well the assessment addresses other factors such as environmental changes.
    • The outcome will be a report from the Peer Review Panel addressing each TOR, including whether the assessment represents the best available science for management use and recommendations for improving the next benchmark assessment.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: Following the Peer Review Workshop, the TC will meet to review the Peer Review Report before it is submitted for Board Consideration and to discuss projections.

Consideration by Management Board — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release on the findings of the Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report will be issued following the presentation of the assessment and peer review findings/recommendations to the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board at the Commission’s 2027 Summer Meeting. At that time, the Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use, as well as considering possible next steps for management.
  • Meeting Location: The Commission’s 2027 Summer Meeting will be a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Westin Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public have two opportunities to participate in the Board consideration of the Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report: submit public comment prior to the meeting for inclusion in the Board’s meeting materials and attend the meeting. The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board meeting will be open to the public. Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to addend the Board meeting in person or online. If time permits, public comment and the opportunity to ask questions will be available at the discretion of the Board Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (consisting of Commissioners from Maine to North Carolina) will receive presentations from the SAS Chair and Chair of the Peer Review Panel on the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Panel Report. (These documents will be included as part of Board’s materials, which will be made publicly available as part of the 2027 Summer Meeting materials.) The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use. If accepted, the Board may consider a management response at this meeting or a later board meeting, if necessary.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: The Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel (AP) will meet to review the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, and a synopsis of the Management Board’s deliberations and actions(s) on the assessment. The meeting will be held online and open to the public. The AP is welcome to provide feedback to the Board on the report.
Atlantic Sturgeon

In June 2026, through an email vote, the Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board approved the Terms of Reference (TORs) and approved initiating development of an Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment. The goal of the assessment is to evaluate the health of stock along the Atlantic coast and inform management of this species. Following this approval, the Commissions’ species Technical Committee (TC), Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS), and Commission staff began work on the benchmark assessment.

Benchmark stock assessment process timeline highlighting phase 2
The Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment is in the Methods Workshop phase (stage 2) of the development process. The Methods Workshop is scheduled to occur early in 2027.

Assessment Process Stages

Data Workshop — July 23 – August 12, 2026

  • Press Release: ASMFC Begins Preparations for Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment
  • Meeting Location: From July 23 – August 12, the Commission held 4 Data Workshops: 3 via Webinar (July 23, 28 and 30, 2026) and one in-person session (August 10-12, 2026). All webinars were accessible online. The August 10-12 meeting was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at the Commission’s office in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participate: Stakeholders and interested public had two opportunities to participate in the workshops: submit data sources for consideration for inclusion in the assessment and attend the webinars and in-person workshop. Requested data sources included information abundance trends (e.g., surveys), tagging data, biological samples (sex, maturity, age, weight, length), life history information (growth, fecundity, natural mortality, sex ratio, spawning history), stock structure, mortality (predator-prey interactions, anthropogenic sources such as vessel strikes and bycatch). For data sets to be considered at the workshop, data needed to be sent in with accompanying methods description by July 1, 2026. The Data Webinars and Workshop were open to the public and attendees joined as observers either online or in-person. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • During the July Data Webinars, the TC and the SAS reviewed and evaluated available data sources for the assessment, including indices of abundance, life history information, bycatch estimation, and tagging data.
    • The in-person workshop of the SAS wrapped up the Data Workshop series. Agenda topics included discussion about data sources for the assessment, including indices of abundance, life history information, bycatch estimation, and tagging data, as well as preparation for the next workshop on assessment methods, and other items as needed from the July data webinars.

Methods Workshop — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The methods workshop is expected to occur early in 2027.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Public participation will take the form of attending the workshop. The workshop will be open to the public and attendees may join as observers either online or in-person. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needs to show and discuss confidential data, observers are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • This workshop focused on evaluation of models and analyses developed to estimate stock status, with the SAS making final selections regarding data and model structure.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.

Assessment Workshop — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The assessment workshop is expected to occur in August/September 2027.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needs to show and discuss confidential data, observers are asked to leave the room or webinar to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • Discuss the initial results of the assessment process, including the evaluation of models and analyses used to estimate stock status. If the assessment team needs to show and discuss confidential data, observers will be asked to leave the room to preserve data confidentiality.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting(s): The SAS will meet via regularly via webinar to review any follow-up work from the Assessment Workshop and finalize the assessment findings. The TC will meet to review the benchmark stock assessment before it is submitted for peer review. These meetings will be held online and open to the public.

Peer Review — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The peer review workshop is expected to occur in mid-November 2028 by the Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the Review Panel Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • At the meeting, an independent panel of experts in fisheries science (Peer Review Panel) will assess the value and appropriateness of the stock assessment for use in management and provide recommendations for future research and assessment improvements. In its evaluation, the Peer Review Panel will address a TORs, which is a list of questions about the quality of the data, the appropriateness of the modeling techniques and assumptions made, conclusions on stock status, as well as how well the assessment addresses other factors such as environmental changes. The outcome will be a report from the Peer Review Panel addressing each TORs, including whether the assessment represents the best available science for management use and recommendations for improving the next benchmark assessment.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: Following the Peer Review Workshop, the TC will meet to review the Peer Review Report before it is submitted for Board Consideration and to discuss projections.

Consideration by Management Board — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release on the findings of the Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report will be issued following the presentation of the assessment and peer review findings/recommendations to the Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board at the Commission’s 2029 Winter Meeting. At that time, the Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use, as well as considering possible next steps for management.
  • Meeting Location: The Commission’s 2029 Winter Meeting will be a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Westin Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public have two opportunities to participate in the Board consideration of the Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report: submit public comment prior to the meeting for inclusion in the Board’s meeting materials and attend the meeting. The Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board meeting will be open to the public. Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to addend the Board meeting in person or online. If time permits, public comment and the opportunity to ask questions will be available at the discretion of the Board Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board (consisting of Commissioners from Maine to Florida) will receive presentations from the SAS Chair and Chair of the Peer Review Panel on the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Panel Report. (These documents will be included as part of Board’s materials, which will be made publicly available as part of the 2029 Winter Meeting materials.) The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use. If accepted, the Board may consider a management response at this meeting or a later board meeting, if necessary.
Cobia

At the Commission’s 2026 Winter Meeting, the Coastal Pelagics Management Board approved the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the upcoming Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment, with the Commission coordinating the data and assessment workshops for this assessment and the SouthEast Data Assessment and Review (SEDAR 107) coordinating the peer review workshop. SEDAR 107 began as SEDAR 95 in 2024, which was then delayed due to the lead analyst with the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center leaving the agency. A new analyst was identified to resume the assessment in 2026, at which point the assessment was transitioned to the Commission assessment process and was assigned a new SEDAR number – SEDAR 107—with SEDAR coordinating the peer review.

Following the Board’s approval of the TORs, the Cobia Technical Committee (TC), Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS), and Commission staff began work on the benchmark assessment. The goal of the assessment is to evaluate the condition of the Atlantic cobia stock from Rhode Island to Georgia and inform the management of that stock.

Benchmark stock assessment process timeline highlighting phase 2
The Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment is in the Methods Workshop phase (stage 2) of the development process. The Methods Workshop is scheduled to occur in September 2026.

Assessment Process Stages

Data Workshop — March 18 – April 29, 2026

  • Press Release: ASMFC Begins Preparations for Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment
  • Meeting Location: From March 18-April 29, 2026, the Commission held 4 Data Workshops: 3 via webinar (March 18, 23, and 30, 2026) and one in-person session (April 28-29, 2026). All webinars were accessible online. The April 28-29 meeting was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at DoubleTree by Hilton New Bern Riverfront in New Bern, NC.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public had two opportunities to participate in the workshops: submit data sources for consideration for inclusion in the assessment and attend the webinars and/or in-person workshop. Requested data sources included information on data on growth, maturation, migration, tagging, natural mortality, environmental impacts, abundance/biomass, and fishery removals. Additional data needs for the cobia assessment, such as fishery-independent data sources that can contribute to indices of abundance, data to inform the discards in fisheries, including size information, and bycatch in other directed fisheries, were also identified. For data sets to be considered at the workshop, data needed to be sent in with accompanying methods description by March 20, 2026. The Data Webinars and Workshop were open to the public and attendees were able to join as observers either online or in-person. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The first Data Webinar focused on data sources for commercial fishery removals, commercial biosampling, and headboat data; the second webinar focused on data sources for recreational fishery removals, recreational biosampling, and life history; and the third webinar focused on available fishery-independent survey data and initial literature review findings.
    • The April Data Workshop included a discussion about indices of abundance, tagging data, preparation for the next workshop on assessment methods, and other items as needed from the March data webinars.

Methods Workshop — September 22-25, 2026

  • Press Release: ASMFC Stock Assessment Happenings
  • Meeting Location: The Methods Workshop was a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena in Raleigh, NC.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public were welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permitted, public comment was available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needed to show and discuss confidential data, observers were asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • This workshop is focused on development potential models and data analyses to estimate stock status, with the Stock Assessment Subcommittee making selections regarding data inputs and model structure.
    • Discussion on data inputs will include potential index of abundance, life history parameters, fishery-dependent data, and tagging data.
    • Additional topics for the workshop are data and analyses needed to address all TORs relevant to the stock assessment, including relevant ecosystem influences on the stock and research recommendations.
    • Following the workshop, the Stock Assessment Subcommittee will finalize data inputs and develop the potential models for initial runs to be reviewed at the Assessment Workshop.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting(s): Following the Methods Workshop, the SAS finalized data inputs and developed the potential models for initial runs to be reviewed at the Assessment Workshop.

Assessment Workshop — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The assessment workshop is expected to occur in December 2026.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the SAS Chair. If the assessment team needs to show and discuss confidential data, observers are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • Conduct the assessment, including the evaluation of models and analyses used to estimate stock status.
    • Note: Outputs from stock assessment model runs presented at the workshop are preliminary and will likely be updated by the SAS following the workshop.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting(s): Following the Assessment Workshop, the TC will join the SAS to review the benchmark stock assessment before it is submitted for peer review. The meeting(s) will be held online and open to the public.

Peer Review — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release will be shared when available, including information on meeting time, location, and participation instructions. The assessment workshop is expected to occur in May 2027 and will be coordinated by SEDAR.
  • Meeting Location: To be determined
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to attend the workshop in person or listen online. If time permits, public comment will be available at the discretion of the Review Panel Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • At the meeting, an independent panel of experts in fisheries science (Peer Review Panel) will assess the value and appropriateness of the stock assessment for use in management and provide recommendations for future research and assessment improvements. In its evaluation, the Peer Review Panel will address the TORs, which is a list of questions about the quality of the data, the appropriateness of the modeling techniques and assumptions made, conclusions on stock status, as well as how well the assessment addresses other factors such as environmental changes. The outcome will be a report from the Peer Review Panel addressing each TOR. The Panel may request that additional work be done for the assessment or it may provide recommendations for improving the next benchmark assessment.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: Following the Peer Review Workshop, the TC will meet to review the Peer Review Report before it is submitted for Board Consideration and to discuss projections.

Consideration by Management Board — Upcoming

  • Press Release: A press release on the findings of the Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report will be issued following the presentation of the assessment and peer review findings/recommendations to the Coastal Pelagics Management Board at the Commission’s 2027 Summer Meeting. At that time, the Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use, as well as consider possible next steps for management, if necessary.
  • Meeting Location: The Commission’s 2027 Summer Meeting will be a hybrid meeting; accessible online and in-person at Westin Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
  • Public Participation: Stakeholders and interested public have two opportunities to participate in the Board consideration of the Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report: submit public comment prior to the meeting for inclusion in the Board’s meeting materials and attend the meeting. The Coastal Pelagics Management Board meeting will be open to the public. Stakeholders and interested public are welcome to addend the Board meeting in person or online. If time permits, public comment and the opportunity to ask questions will be available at the discretion of the Board Chair.
  • Purpose & Outcome:
    • The Coastal Pelagics Management Board (consisting of Commissioners from Rhode Island to Florida) will receive presentations from the SAS Chair and Chair of the Peer Review Panel on the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Panel Report. (These documents will be included as part of Board’s materials, which will be made publicly available as part of the 2027 Summer Meeting materials.) The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The Board will consider accepting the assessment and peer review report for management use. If accepted, the Board may consider a management response at this meeting or a later board meeting, if necessary.
  • Additional Relevant Meeting: The South Atlantic Advisory Panel (AP) will meet to review the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, and a synopsis of the Management Board’s deliberations and action(s) on the assessment. The meeting will be held online and open to the public. The AP is welcome to provide feedback to the Board on the report.

Contacts

Stock Assessment Meeting Announcements

See More Meeting Announcements in the Archive

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