Why a management procedure approach? Some positives and negatives

Abstract

The origin of the management procedure (MP) approach (sometimes termed management strategy evaluation), with its simulation testing of feedback-control algorithms as a necessary and structured basis for dealing with the inevitable uncertainties associated with fisheries assessments, is briefly reviewed. Also discussed are the advantages that overcome some of the difficulties of the "traditional" approach of coupling an annual "best" assessment to some harvest control rule, such as a failure to consider longer-term trade-offs properly. The MP approach does, however, also have disadvantages, such as the length of time typically required for its development and an argued inflexibility after implementation. Solutions that have been developed to overcome some of these difficulties are discussed. © 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved.