Sablefish stock assessment is fortunate to have a dedicated longline survey and several other fishery independent abundance indices. The stock assessment is also one of the few fisheries in the North Pacific that uses fishery catch rates as an additional index of abundance. Some modeling using generalized additive models has been conducted to standardize this catch rate index. In addition, similar techniques may be useful to increase the accuracy of the longline survey index. Refining these standardization techniques and converting them to useful abundance indices for the stock assessment will require high-dimensional modeling. The project will require extensive data exploration skills to consider sablefish behavior, interactions with other species, and environmental data to determine what factors have the greatest effect on sablefish abundance indices. In addition, this project will also require interacting with representatives from different fishing fleets and gear groups and presenting at public meetings.

Additional Benefits

Awardees who reside more than 50 miles from their host laboratory and remain on tenure for at least six months are eligible for paid relocation to within the vicinity of their host laboratory.

A group health insurance program is available to awardees and their qualifying dependents in the United States.