Peer review workshop scheduled for draft Blue Crab stock assessment

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a workshop Nov. 3-5 for independent experts to review the Blue Crab stock assessment. The workshop will be held at Craven Community College, Room CTC 118 DE, 800 College Court, New Bern 28562 and by Webex.

Discussion will start at 9 a.m. each day and run to 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 3-4 and will run from 9 a.m. to noon on Nov. 5. The workshop is open for the public to observe the peer review process, allowing for improved understanding of fisheries stock assessments. Public comments and questions will be accepted on the first and second day of the workshop from 5-5:30 p.m.

A stock assessment is a scientific analysis that uses information gathered from commercial and recreational fisheries, data from scientific sampling and observations, and fish or shellfish biology to estimate the abundance of an animal population, determine stock status, and, when possible, predict future trends of stock abundance.

A peer review is an evaluation of scientific work by independent, unbiased experts. A fisheries stock assessment peer review evaluates the validity of data used, the appropriateness of the assessment model used, and the rationale of any assumptions made 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 the outcome.