Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) is an essential tool for evaluating management plans against management objectives, including whether such plans are consistent with ICES precautionary approach and take appropriate account of uncertainty.
The main objective of this course is to provide a general introduction to MSE by covering a range of topics with associated case studies and practical sessions, thereby equipping participants with the knowledge, skills, and quantitative tools to undertake MSE on their own fisheries resources.
The course pairs theoretical lectures with actual case studies from around the world (including several European examples), which serve to illustrate or highlight concepts introduced during the lecture sessions.
The topics covered include:
- general introduction, operating models (conditioning, construction and weighting alternative hypotheses)
- management strategies (different types used, including model-based and model-free)
- uncertainty (the different kinds and where they fit into the MSE process)
- risk (various definitions and management)
- communication of results (linking performance statistics to objectives, considering different stakeholders).
The operating models are not limited to single species only, and there are examples with technical interactions (anchovy-sardine mixed fishery in South Africa) and the use of an environmental index in a Harvest Control Rule (Pacific sardine).
Small group discussions help solidify concepts learnt each day and worked examples are used to turn concepts into practice (HCRs in Excel and a full MSE in FLR using an ICES example).
The course ends with a summary and Best Practice guidelines.
Practicalities
This is a 5-day online course from 23–27 August 2021 over Microsoft Teams, consisting of both live sessions and offline intersessional work. The sessions consist of lectures, interactive discussions, and tutorials designed to equip participants with practical MSE skills.
The course is scheduled for CET core hours (10:00–18:00), but hours could be adjusted if sufficient demand warrants this. Instructions on how to install the required software (free and open source) will be distributed prior to the course.
Level
The course level is introductory, however, experience with stock assessment models used to provide management advice and with Excel and R would be helpful. A brief introduction to FLR as an MSE tool will be provided during the course.
The course takes place online.
Registration deadline: 6 August 2021. Go to registration.
