PROLOGUE
During the development of the recent Biological Opinion by the National Marine Fisheries Service concerning the impact of groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska on Steller sea lions, the lack of consensus among the scientific community concerning the causes for d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.232.5923 http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/steller_sealions/final_fmp_biop_ind_sci_rev_08oct2011.pdf |
| Summary: | During the development of the recent Biological Opinion by the National Marine Fisheries Service concerning the impact of groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska on Steller sea lions, the lack of consensus among the scientific community concerning the causes for decline was obvious. Consequently, many fishery managers, resource scientists, and industry stakeholders expressed concern about the credibility of the Biological Opinion, and about the impact of conflicting scientific theories on the scientific foundations for ecosystem-based management of North Pacific fisheries. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) share many of these concerns, and as a result, agreed to jointly convene an independent panel to scientifically review the Biological Opinion, and provide their findings and recommendations in a timely manner to the public. In April 2011, ADFG and WDFW developed the initial terms of reference for the review and selected two panel co-chairs for this effort. The co-chairs selected two additional panel members, and developed the final terms of reference, timeline for their work, and format of this report. The terms of reference and biographies of the panel members are posted on the web at: |
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