SUMMARY

FSIM is a computer simulation model for fish populations designed to simulate many forms of fisheries data routinely collected from real fisheries. Analyses of these “known ” simulated datasets facilitate studies of the robustness of alternative assessment methodologies. The model is also useful for exploring the implications of uncertainty about the dynamics of fish populations, forecasting consequences of management alternatives, and predicting future trends in population sizes and catches for a wide assortment of possible biological attributes under different management alternatives. The population may be stratified by age, sex, and sizes of the individuals that comprise the stock. Output options include time series of population and spawning biomass, catch by fishery, SPR, annual mean lengths, weights and ages of the catch, and length samples drawn from simulated catches or the population. The program suite includes modules to compute equilibrium production, maximum sustainable yield, and yield per recruit for the overall selectivity pattern in any simulated year. RÉSUMÉ Le FSIM est un modèle de simulation informatique destiné aux populations de poissons et conçu dans le but de simuler de nombreuses formes de données halieutiques habituellemen