ENG
Row
Row
North Atlantic Swordfish Management Strategy Evaluation
(Xiphias gladius)
Row
Overview
Row
The SCRS formally initiated the development of MSE for North Atlantic swordfish, which included defining and conditioning Operating Models (OMs). The OMs were developed using the 2022 stock assessment and updated with data through 2022. Further refinement of OMs and testing of alternative Management Procedures (MPs) has continued from 2019 to 2023. In 2024, the Commission adopted the MP for the North Atlantic swordfish stock in Rec. 24‑10.
Row
OM Developed
in 2018-2023
Recondition
in 2027
MP Adopted
in 2023
MP since 2023
ECP adoption
in 2025
EC evaluation
not started
Row
History
Row
The North Atlantic swordfish Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) has
been developed to support science-based management under the ICCAT. The
objective is to evaluate Candidate Management Procedures that can meet
conservation and fishery objectives under uncertainty. The first ICCAT
recommendation to explicitly request a MSE for North Atlantic swordfish
appears in Rec. 15‑07, titled “Recommendation on the Development of
Harvest Control Rules and of Management Strategy Evaluation”, which was
adopted in 2015. This recommendation defines what MSE is and establishes
it as a priority for ICCAT’s major species, including North Atlantic
swordfish.
Elements of MSE for North Atlantic swordfish have
been explored at ICCAT for some time. Since the Intersessional Meeting
of the Swordfish Species Group on MSE in 2018, the Standing Committee on
Research and Statistics (SCRS) formally initiated the development of
MSE, which included defining and conditioning Operating Models.
Row
Contents
Row
Row
Operating Models
Row
Operating Models (OMs) for North Atlantic swordfish were developed through an iterative conditioning process beginning in 2018. These models reflect alternative hypotheses regarding productivity, recruitment variability, catchability, and selectivity. Conditioning was informed by past assessments, CPUE indices, and tagging data. The OMs for the North Atlantic swordfish MSE were developed using the 2022 stock assessment and updated with data through 2022. They represent a range of biological and fishery uncertainties to ensure robust performance testing of candidate procedures. These models are implemented in the SWOMSE package, built on openMSE.
Row
Materials
More materials can be found in Reference
Row
Management Objectives
Rec. 24-10
Row
Stock Status
Prob. >= 60% in green quadrant
Safety
Prob. < 15% of stock falling below Blim
Yield
Maximize overall catch
Stability
Minimize TAC changes between periods
Row
Candidate Management Procedure
Row
Initially developed Candidate Management Procedures (CMPs) were either
empirical (index-based) or model-based, following 4 CMPs were sent to
the Commission for their final selection in 2024.
- MCC9 and MCC11
- CE and SPSSFox
Row
Management Procedure
Row
The Commission adopted the MCC11 Management Procedure in 2024 (Rec.24-10, Annex 1).
Row
The MCC11 (Mostly Constant Catch with 11 levels) Management Procedure (MP) is an empirical approach that relies on a single input: the combined index of abundance for North Atlantic swordfish (hereafter, “the Combined Index”). The objective of the MCC11 MP is to maintain catches at a relatively stable level, permitting increases to the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) only in response to a substantial increase in the Combined Index, and allowing for reductions in the TAC only if the Combined Index exhibits a substantial decline.
Row
Exceptional Circumstances
Row
The Commission will adopt the Exceptional Circumstances Protocol in 2025.
character(0)
Row
References
Row
Materials
Rec/Res
Meetings
SCRS Docs
Others
Row
Updated: July 7, 2025
