Rules and Procedures

• Nominees for Chairperson are from Members attending the meeting.
• The Chairperson is elected by secret ballot, one vote per Member and by majority vote of Members attending the meeting. The first round of an election will consist of each voting Member having the opportunity to submit one nominee's name on a secret ballot. If the same name appears on a majority of ballots submitted, that candidate shall be declared the elected Chairperson. If no majority of nominee appears on the ballots, the two nominees receiving the most votes would be the candidates for the second round. Members would vote for one of the candidates in the second round and the candidate receiving the majority of votes submitted shall be declared the elected Chairperson. If a tie vote results, a third round of voting between the two nominees shall be held in order to secure a candidate with majority votes.
• The Chairperson serves for a term of three years and is eligible for re-election for one additional three-year term. In the unusual event that no member is able to serve as Chairperson, a standing Chairperson may serve an additional two consecutive years beyond the two terms provided that (1) the standing Chairperson is willing to stand for re-appointment and (2) the Committee re-elects the standing Chairperson. The Chairperson will be elected for a one-year term, and if a new Chairperson is still not identified the Committee can re-elect the standing Chairperson for a second one-year term. A Chairperson cannot be re-elected beyond this additional two-year period.

• The runner-up candidate in the second or third round of the election for Chairperson shall be declared the elected Vice Chairperson. If only one nominee results from the first round of the election for Chairperson, the Chairperson election process shall be applied to elect a Vice Chairperson.
• The Vice Chairperson serves for a term of three years and is eligible for reelection for an additional three-year term.

The Working Group Chairperson is responsible for chairing meetings of the Working Group, facilitating the development of multi-year work plans and coordinating work plan assignments, organizing meetings, including advanced preparation of agendas, scheduling of presenters, appointing of rapporteurs, providing assignments for reports, and ensuring that Committee assignments are completed as required. The Chairperson also facilitates the meetings, to ensure that participants with differing views get an opportunity to be heard. The Chairperson strives for consensus of all members in reporting of Working Group findings, conclusions and decisions to the Committee.

The Chairperson serves a three-year term and may be reappointed for an additional three-year term, but not for more than two consecutive terms. In the unusual event that no member is able to serve as Chairperson, a standing Chairperson may serve an additional two consecutive years beyond the two terms provided that (1) the standing Chairperson is willing to stand for re-appointment and (2) the Working Group re-elects the standing Chairperson. The Chairperson will be elected for a one-year term, and if a new Chairperson is still not identified the Working Group can re-elect the standing Chairperson for a second one-year term. A Chairperson cannot be re-elected beyond this additional two-year period.

The Vice Chair serves for a term of one-to-three years, at the discretion of the Working Group, and is eligible for reelection for additional terms.

• Introduction
• Review of Recent Fisheries (Description of recent developments and issues of fisheries.)
• Fishery Statistics (Presentation of fishing area by gear, time series of landings or catches, catch-effort or CPUE trends, size composition and other biological statistics, e.g., sex ratio and by-catch.)
• Review of Biological Studies (Research results from biological working papers and summary of comments by participants.)
• Stock Assessment Model, Parameter Estimates and Runs (Selections used in the stock assessment)
• Current Stock Status (Stock assessment findings, conclusions from comparison with typically used biological reference points, uncertainties and conservation considerations.)
• Special Assignments. (Additional research needs to address uncertainties and work plan for next assessment.)
• Research Recommendations and Updated Work Plan (Recommendations should be reported by category, statistics, biological studies and stock assessment and focused for advancing understanding of the resource, particularly for more accurate stock assessments.)
• Administrative Matters (A catch-all section for time and place for next meeting, acknowledgments, and discussion of other administrative matters.)

Findings, conclusions, and decisions of Working Groups are to be agreed by consensus; however, if reasonable efforts are made and fail to yield consensus, reports and findings may reflect opinions and the differing views and provide suggestions for resolving or a research plan that would resolve or clarify the different views might also be proposed.

To achieve these goals, stock assessments should be based on best available scientific information (BSIA) on (1) fishery catch, effort and operational characteristics, (2) fishery performance statistics (i.e., CPUE) and (3) biological parameters. The stock assessment model should be chosen based on complexity, resolution and quality of BSIA. Stock status determinations should be provided relative to common biological reference points. To assist resource managers with their decision making, stock projections and harvest policy analyses should be conducted.

The frequency and level of stock assessments (benchmark and update) will be determined by the Working Group for consideration by the Committee.

The following are guidelines for developing BSIA for ISC stock assessments and should be incorporated into all ISC stock assessments where possible:

• For developing BSIA on fishery catch:
• Accurate Species Identification
• Spatiotemporal Estimates of Catch, Fishing Effort and Size or Age compositions by Fishing Fleet and Gear
• Characterization of Uncertainty in Catch Reporting Including Bycatch and Discards

• For developing BSIA on fishery CPUE standardizations:
• Fishery Descriptions Including History of Fishery Development and Changes
• Describe Data Selection, CPUE Standardization Model, and CPUE Estimates
• Provide Model Diagnostics and Goodness of Model Fit Criteria Relative to Alternative Model Configurations
• Compare Nominal and Standardized CPUE
• Characterize Uncertainty in Estimates of Standardized CPUE

• For Developing BSIA on fishery stock assessment:
• Description of Model Structure and Assumptions
• Document Statistical Formulation
• Provide Diagnostics of Model Fit to Data
• Describe Model Results Including Stock Status Relative to Biological Reference Points
• Characterize Uncertainty in Model Results Including Sensitivity Analyses for Key Parameters
• Provide Projections of Management Actions

0. Components of a structured ISC stock assessment document.
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Background on Biology, Fisheries, and Previous Assessment
4. Data Used for Assessment (describe any of the following used)
   • Spatial Stratification
   • Temporal Stratification
   • Catch Data
   • Abundance Data, e.g. CPUE
   • Tagging Data
5. Assessment Model (describe any of the following available/used)
   1. Population Dynamics
      • Cohort Dynamics
      • Recruitment
      • Initial Population Size
      • Growth
      • Sexual Maturity and Fecundity
      • Natural Mortality
      • Stock-Recruitment Resilience
      • Movement
   2. Fishery Dynamics
      • Fishery Selectivity
      • Catchability for Abundance Indices
      • Tagging Dynamics
   3. Likelihood Components
      • Observation Error Model
      • Process Error Model
   4. Prior Distributions or Parameter Constraints
      • Model Parameters
      • Process Dynamics
   5. Model Results
      • Model Convergence Diagnostics
      • Fit of Model Predictions to Observed Data
      • Model Parameter Estimates
      • Biomass and Fishing Mortality Estimates
      • Biological Reference Points
   6. Stock Status Assessment Results Determination Relative to BRPs
6. Projections and Harvest Policy Analysis (include if developed for stock)
   1. Kobe Status Plot
   2. Retrospective Analysis
   3. Harvest Projections
      1. Assumptions
      2. Fishery Performance Indicators
         1. Average Yield and Variability
         2. Probability of Overfishing and Overfished Status
         3. Probability of Exceeding Threshold and Target Biomass
   4. Kobe II Strategy Matrix

0. Guidelines for the Executive Summary of a stock assessment conducted by the ISC.
1. Status of Stock Assessment results relative to BRPs
2. Management Conservation Advice
3. Three-Year Forecast Table
4. Landings and Status Table
   1. Landings by Fleet
   2. Spawning Biomass
   3. Recruitment
   4. Fishing Mortality
   5. Exploitation Rate
5. Stock Identification and Distribution
6. Catches
7. Data and Assessment
   Biological Reference Points
   Special Comments

• Review of Data Requirements for Stock Assessment and Fishery Monitoring
• Review of Data Collected and performances by Participants
• Updating of Data Inventory and Depository
• Review of Data Reporting Protocol (reporting schedule, data access and availability, data correspondence)
• Conclusions, Recommendations and Updated Work Plan
• Administrative Matters

1. Report Preparation

   Page 1 of each report should include Annex number (to be provided by Chairman), working group name, date and location of the meeting. Text must be typed single-spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font throughout. All reports should have the Working Group abbreviation on the top right of each page. These are as follows: Albacore Working Group (ALBWG), Billfish Working Group (BILLWG), Pacific Bluefin Tuna Working Group (PBFWG), Shark Working Group (SHARKWG), and Statistics Working Group (STATWG).

2. Content

   The entire text should be well written and free of grammar errors, therefore someone whose primary language is English should contribute to reviewing and editing the report before it is submitted to the Chairman. A brief INTRODUCTION should include which working group met and when, the objectives of the meeting, and participating members (countries). The remainder of the Report sections will depend on the agenda but each report should include the following, if available:

   • WG schedule - Date and place of future meetings.
   • Work plan including names of responsible parties.
   • Adjournment
   • References
   • Attachment 1: List of Participants with contact information.
   • Attachment ?: List of Working Papers with contact information.
   • Attachment ?: Agenda
   • Attachment ?: Report (special session or analysis conducted at meeting)

   Headings within each section must be short, reflect a logical sequence, and follow the rules of multiple subdivision (i.e. there should be no subdivision without at least two items). Each section with a Discussion should include issues raised by the paper(s), arguments and conclusion.

   Working Papers: If working papers are presented, the title, author and WG paper number should be listed in the WG report. If the document will be made available on the ISC website, include only conclusions and elements referenced in the Discussion. Otherwise, a summary of the document should appear before the Discussion. In addition, the title and authors name(s) should appear in the List of Working Papers along with authors’ contact information for acquiring the document, if appropriate. Working papers should be numbered systematically and include the WG abbreviation, e.g. ISC/08/BILLWG-1/01.

3. General

   Spell out all acronyms and abbreviations the first time they are mentioned. The scientific names of species must be written out the first time they are mentioned; subsequent mention of scientific names may be abbreviated. Dates should be written as follows: 11 November 2008. Measurements should be expressed in metric units, e.g., metric tons as (t); if other units of measurement are used, please make this fact explicit. Write out numbers zero through nine unless measurements (e.g., nine fish vs. 9mm). Because WG reports are considered drafts until accepted by the ISC at the annual meeting, include a DRAFT watermark on all reports.

4. Tables and Figures
   • Cite in numerical order in the text.
   • Each should have a caption that clearly explains the content and allows table or figure to be intelligible on its own.
   • All axes should be labeled.
   • Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the axes labels.
   • Zeros should precede all decimal points for values less than one.
   • Sample size, n, should be italicized.
   • Do not use overly large font sizes in figures.
   • Use Times New Roman 12 point font in tables.
   • Maps should have a North arrow and/or latitude-longitude lines.
   • Indicate direction (east-west, north-south) of degrees longitude and latitude on maps (e.g. 170˚E)
   • Table headings should be short.
   • Explain all unusual symbols in the captions.
5. Timeline

   After a WG Workshop or major meeting, the Working Group should concentrate on cleaning-up its report in order to provide a clean report to the ISC Chairman within four (4) weeks after the Workshop. If the Workshop ends less than four weeks before the start of the ISC annual Plenary meeting, a clean Workshop report needs to be provided no later than two (2) days before the start of the Plenary meeting. The Working Group and the ISC Chairman will work with an editor to revise each report to ensure that the writing is grammatically correct and understandable to outside audiences.

In order to address a delay of about one year between ISC Plenary approval of stock status advice and conservation information by the ISC and its entry into the IATTC management decision-making cycle, the following procedure should be followed. The Chair/Vice Chair of Working Groups that complete a stock assessment and wish to provide stock assessment results and science advice to the IATTC SAC meeting forward the Executive Summary (see W8 for guidance) of their assessment as a stand-alone document to the ISC Chair for review no later than one (1) month prior to the SAC meeting. The ISC Chair will forward the draft Executive Summary to the Heads of Delegation and will provide comments back to the Working Chair/Vice Chair as soon as possible. Once the ISC Chair and the WG Chair/Vice Chair agree on the revised text, the ISC Chair will provide approval and the Executive Summary will be forwarded to the IATTC. This approval will be given no later than two weeks prior to the meeting to allow time for posting. Only the Executive Summary will be forwarded and it will be clearly marked as “Draft, Subject to Change by the ISC Plenary” in the header on each page. This procedure will be followed for both update and benchmark stock assessments presented to the SAC Meeting.

There may be other occasions when this procedure needs to be followed. These occasions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the ISC Chairperson.