STAR Panel Advisors

The STAR panel reviewed a new full assessment for kelp greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus) off Oregon during a five-day meeting in Newport, OR. The stock assessment team (STAT) prepared a new benchmark assessment using the most recent Stock Synthesis 3 software, with a thorough reconsideration of the data and model structure, and including investigations of historical and recent landings and discards, length and age data and fleet structures. The last assessment was conducted in 2005. The STAR Panel recommends that the new assessment for kelp greenling off Oregon constitutes the best available scientific information on the current status of the stock and that it provides a suitable basis for management decisions. Summary of Data and Assessment Models Kelp greenling data Stock definition Kelp greenling range from southern California, north to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, but are rarely found south of Point Conception, California. The main population range and fisheries activities are from central California (including the Channel Islands) north through Oregon. They are most prevalent nearshore and intertidally in depths <50m. There is little direct information on the stock structure of kelp greenling of