Overview of data sources for the Pacifi c halibut stock assessment and related analyses

This document provides a summary of the data sources available for the Pacifi c halibut stock assessment, apportionment, harvest policy, Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE), and related analyses. It began as background for the 2013 stock assessment (Stewart 2014), and serves as an annually updated source for direct evaluation of the data and processing methods employed. For each data source, a brief narrative is provided which includes the source, steps taken to fi lter and analyze the data, and the key quantities available for subsequent analysis. Data sources are described within the categories of: fi shery-independent, fi shery-dependent, and auxiliary sources of information. Some of the detail presented in previous versions is not repeated annually if there has been no change to the methods or results. Also provided in this document is a brief synopsis of important changes made in the current year, as well as a list of data sources or analyses that are currently not directly used, but are potentially available for future analysis. The latter includes some comment on avenues for additional data collection and/or analysis.