The annual international review workshop will take place as indicated above, with an international review panel of Carmen Fernandez (Spain), Ana Parma (Argentina), Andre Punt (USA) and Tony Smith (Australia), who all number amongst the world's leading scientists in the field, in attendance. Nine other international scientists will also be present, primarily from Denmark and Namibia as the workshop is also linked to a European-funded initiative in conjunction with the Benguela Current Commission to investigate further the implications of local hake resources possibly involving stocks which are shared with Namibia. The event is financed jointly by the NRF and DAFF, Branch Fisheries, with the undersigned and Kim Prochazka from DAFF responsible for its overall organisation. The chair will be shared primarily between Kim Prochazka, Janet Coetzee and Deon Durholtz of DAFF and Tony Smith of the panel.
The primary topics to be addressed at this year's event are:
1) The hake resources of South Africa and Namibia: preparing data and developing a framework for evaluating whether stocks are shared and what the consequent implications for the size, productivity and improved sustainable utilisation of the resources would then be.
2) Informing the process of revising the formulae ("Operational Management Procedure" - OMP) for South Africa's pelagic fishery for sardine and anchovy, including the possibility of introducing spatial aspects to the management of sardine. This also involves also three associated sub-topics:
a) Evaluating the possible impact of the levels of catches of these species on the local African penguin population which has been in recent decline
b) Discussion of recent revised requirements by the Marine Stewardship Council which is requiring possibly reduced levels of harvesting of such forage species in the interests of dependent species for award of their ecolabel
c) Discussion of alternative approaches to set catch limits for the juvenile horse-mackerel bycatch in the sardine-anchovy fishery; this is restricted at present to safeguard the valuable midwater trawl fishery for adult horse mackerel, but in years of good recruitment, spatial closures to keep this bycatch low are leading to appreciable undercatching of anchovy which has negative socio-economic implications.
The international review panel will give a non-technical summary of the results of the workshop, suitable for stakeholders, managers and a lay audience, at 3-30 pm on Friday 2 December in room M304 of the Mathematics Building at UCT. Attendance of this session is open to all.
Attendance at other sessions, for which initial details are given below and which will be sometimes highly technical, is also open, but as space is limited and also to facilitate catering arrangements, those wishing to attend must please respond to Ms Di Loureiro at
di.lapidoloureiro@uct.ac.za stating the sessions which they would wish to attend.
DOCUMENTATION
Technical documents (P) for discussion at the workshop, and further background documents (BG) are in the process of being posted and may be downloaded from the website
http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/maram/workshops.php .
DAILY TIMETABLE
The schedule is shown further below. Note that there will be four sessions a day: I) 9-00 to 10-30; II) 11-00 to 12-30; III) 2-00 to 3-30 and IV) 4-00 to 5-30.
NB: The latter stages below (specifically Thursday afternoon and Friday morning) may change as time progresses during the event in response to differential progress on the various issues, as well as on computing tasks requested
Mon 28: I) Welcome followed by presentations on data available for hake assessments
II) Introduction to pelagic fishery and OMP revision process, followed by commencement ofdiscussion of evidence for multiple sardine stocks
III) Pelagic OMP
IV) Pelagic OMP
In parallel with III) and IV) a small group will meet in room M207 to discuss detailed aspects of the hake data, chaired by Deon Durholtz. This group may meet again later during the week.
Tues 29: I) Horse mackerel
II) MSC - forage species ecolabeling requirements
III) Pelagic OMP
IV) Hake data
Wed 30: I) Pelagic OMP
II) Penguins
III) Hake assessment models
IV) Hake assessment models
Thur 1: I) Pelagic OMP
II) Hake genetics and assessment models
III) Penguins
IV) Pelagic OMP and/or MSC forage species
Fri 2: I) Hake assessment models
II) Pelagic fishery issues - OMP, horse mackerel, and/or penguins
III) Panel technical report consideration
IV) Presentation of Panel Report at a less technical level aimed at managers, industry stake-holders etc. (NB Room M304 and commencing 3-30 pm)
FURTHER ENQUIRIES
Please contact Ms Di Loureiro at 021-650-2340 between 9 am and 2 pm.
