Research fishing conducted under CM 24-01 requires that research catch limits be assigned to individual vessels or groups of vessels for purposes of completing the proposed research. For fish stocks already subject to non-zero total catch limits, e.g. based on agreed stock assessments, deducting research catch limits can result in forgone catch for other vessels participating in the Olympic fishery.
We propose a simple and transparent mechanism by which research catch limits assigned to effort-limited research proposals under CM 24-01 may be calculated in a transparent manner. Deviations between actual and expected research catches from fixed-effort surveys could be deducted from total catch limits in the following year, to ensure that survey objectives are not compromised while simultaneously ensuring that other vessels operating in the same fishery are not disadvantaged and continue to prioritise and support the development of research proposals to improve stock assessment.