- See Wiki for a discussion board listing research topics
- See ICES MGWG homepage for overall objectives, latest report, etc.

The 2020 meeting of the ICES Methods Working Group is planned for 21-25 September in Reykjavik, Iceland. More details to follow.

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS), University of Washington. Directions, parking, other visitor info. There are three SAFS buildings, this meeting will be in the Fishery Sciences building (FSH, google maps link).

Note the different room for Monday vs. the rest of the week

Mon, 9am-5pm, Room FSH 203

• Welcome
• Review of ongoing projects: state-space, stock-recruitment, model-complexity, selectivity
• Status update
• Describe main challenges/obstacles in each project
• Consider whether to add/remove projects

Tue, 9am-5pm, Rooms FSH 314 & 329

• Work on projects
• Introduce new members to tasks and workflow

Wed, 9am-5pm, Rooms FSH 314 & 329

• Work on projects
• Status update
• Afternoon walk

Thu, 9am-5pm, Rooms FSH 314 & 329

• Work on projects
• Social evening

Fri, 9am-4pm, Rooms FSH 314 & 329

• Work on projects
• Plan next months
• SAFS seminar (1:30-2:30pm; FSH 203)
• Wrap up

(to MGWG members, sent 8 Aug 2019)

Dear MGWG members,

I am very much looking forward to our meeting next month in Seattle, 23-27 September. We will be meeting in the Fishery Sciences Building (http://uw.edu/maps/?fsh) from 9:00-17:00 Monday-Thursday, and 9:00-16:00 Friday. For the MGWG meeting, our main contacts in Seattle are Cole Monnahan, Trevor Branch, and Kelli Johnson.

The draft agenda for Monday is: welcome and status update of ongoing MGWG projects, discussion with Seattle scientists (UW, NOAA, IPHC) about ongoing MGWG projects, an invitation to join the MGWG, and a group evaluation and decision whether to launch a new MGWG project during the meeting. Tuesday to Friday: work on projects.

To interact with the local scientists, we may organize lunchtime seminars and guided walks through the local parks and pubs. Potential lunchtime seminar topics include the (1) MGWG state-space project, (2) MGWG selectivity project, and (3) ICES Transparent Assessment Framework. The state-space project is submitting an abstract for the CAPAM workshop in New Zealand in November and the selectivity project has an accepted abstract for the ICES conference in Sweden in September.

Please use the Doodle poll

https://doodle.com/poll/umxz6dk83ee3vuna

to indicate whether you will be attending the meeting. As before, we will be posting practical information about the meeting and venue on the GitHub MGWG front page, https://github.com/ices-eg/MGWG.

All the best, Arni and Chris, MGWG Chairs

(to local quantitive folks in Seattle, sent 22 Aug 2019)

Dear stock assessment experts,

The ICES Methods Working Group will have its annual meeting in Seattle next month, 23-27 September. The meeting will be held at SAFS from 9:00-17:00 Monday-Thursday, and 9:00-16:00 Friday. The homepage is https://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/MGWG.aspx and the projects and manuscripts are organized on https://github.com/ices-eg/MGWG.

The Working Group Chairs, Arni Magnusson and Chris Legault, would like to extend an invitation to local quantitative folks to attend the meeting and to join the Methods WG as coauthors of upcoming research projects.

The draft agenda for Monday is: welcome and status update of ongoing MGWG projects, discussion with Seattle scientists (UW, NOAA, IPHC, etc.) about ongoing MGWG projects, an invitation to join the MGWG, and a group evaluation and decision whether to launch a new MGWG project during the meeting. Tuesday to Friday: work on projects. There will also be a lunchtime seminar (or two) scheduled in that week presenting the results of MGWG research projects.

Please use the Doodle poll

https://doodle.com/poll/umxz6dk83ee3vuna

to indicate whether you will be attending the meeting, or at least the Monday morning session.

Let's present our projects at ICES ASC 2019 in Sweden! The deadline for submitting abstracts is 11 March 2019.

https://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/asc/asc2019/Pages/Call-for-abstracts.aspx

As a quick overview, here is a list of themes with abbreviated titles:

• (A) Habitat models to inform ecosystem-based management
• (B) Marine aquaculture
• (C) Machine learning
• (D) Ecosystem vulnerability
• (E) Assessment models with stock components and/or migration
• (F) Management objectives, trade-offs, MSE
• (G) Ecosystem structure and life history
• (H) Non-quota and data-poor stocks
• (I) Humans within ecosystems, socio-economic aspects
• (J) Algal blooms and jellyfish
• (K) Energy transfer through the food webs
• (L) Biological adaptation to climate change and fisheries
• (M) Quantifying seabed impact
• (N) Data-limited stock assessment methods
• (O) Vulnerable marine ecosystems in the deep sea
• (P) Mixed fishery management, discards and choke effects
• (Q) Small-scale and recreational fisheries

Mapping our projects to these theme sessions could look something like this:

1. state-space: N
2. stock-recruitment: N
3. model-complexity: N
4. selectivity: P

A presentation at a conference can be a great stepping stone, to transition from the initial analysis and results stage towards writing up a cohesive story in a manuscript.

Although the 11 March deadline for abstracts is close, keep in mind that the abstract can be short and somewhat vague, and we have until 9 September to prepare the slides. Later that month, we have our MGWG meeting in 23-27 September, so our project presentations/slides are due in September anyway :)

Even if only one person from a project subgroup can make it to the ASC, that person could present the research findings and celebrate that milestone in Sweden, Abba style!

MGWG proposes Chris Legault as a new co-chair from 2019 onwards, as recommended by all participants at the 2018 meeting in Ispra. Congratulations to Chris and all of us!

We are seeking applications for the role of co-chair of the ICES Methods WG.

The responsibilities of the co-chair will be to coordinate, guide, and support the working group to reach its objectives. See http://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/MGWG.aspx.

You will join a dynamic and collaborative international team of scientists, who are committed to providing a welcoming, efficient and rewarding working environment, and advancing the development of stock assessment methods.

Main responsibilities

The co-chair will initiate and maintain communication between WG members, prepare and steer annual meetings, mentor new participants, compile and edit the WG report, and assist with project management. In short, support WG members in every way possible in their endeavor to co-author and publish valuable contributions in the field of stock assessment methods.

Qualifications and experience

We seek a co-chair who is motivated, organised, collaborative and flexible. Applicants are expected to have:

• A strong background in stock assessment methods.

• The ability to inspire, delegate tasks, and instill a positive teamwork spirit.

• Exceptional writing and presentation skills, computer literacy and attention to detail.

• Experience participating in international working groups that have successfully published group-authored papers in scientific journals.

• The ability to travel internationally 1-2 times per year, to attend the ICES Methods WG meeting and the ICES WGCHAIRS meeting.

Terms of appointment

The co-chair will be appointed following an election by the working group members. It is a 3-year term, which can be followed by one other 3-year term.

Experience as a chair of an international working group of scientists is considered a part of the professional portfolio as a senior scientist and in academia. It is an opportunity to network with scientists worldwide and will increase your visibility among peers. Also, for the right person, the co-chairing task is enjoyable in itself.

The Methods WG will discuss the selection of a co-chair on Friday 14 September 2019, and a decision will be made soon afterwards.

Tentative date for the next ICES Methods WG meeting:

23-27 September 2019

This timing gets us safely past family vacation time, makes it easier for NOAA staff to get their travel funded, and enables people to attend related events such as the JRC Ensemble Modelling group (26-30 Aug), ICES Annual Science Conference (9-12 Sep), AFS Annual Meeting (29 Sep-3 Oct), etc.

Venue TBD.

• La Baita
• Ristorante San Gottardo
• Caffe Vespucci
• Setteduequattro
• Pizzeria Il Capriccio
• Roby's bistrot

• Il Capriccio

Mon, 9am-5pm

• Welcome
• Review of ongoing projects: state-space, stock-recruitment, model-complexity, selectivity
• Status update
• Describe main challenges/obstacles in each project
• Consider whether to add/remove projects

Tue, 9am-5pm

• Work on projects
• Introduce new members to tasks and workflow
• Discussion about project management

Wed, 9am-5pm

• Work on projects
• Status update
• Afternoon walk

Thu, 9am-5pm

• Work on projects
• Social evening

Fri, 9am-4pm

• Work on projects
• Plan next months
• Wrap up

(sent 30 Apr 2018)

Dear stock assessment experts,

The ICES Methods Working Group will be meeting 10-14 September 2018 in Ispra, Italy, and you are invited to attend!

As the Chair of the WG, my goal is to bring together the best stock assessment modellers from all continents, to do good science and have fun together. The overall objectives of the working group are:

• Develop and improve stock assessment models and techniques
• Leverage the international scope of the WG to analyze many models and datasets
• Publish multi-author papers related to stock assessment

Specific projects launched during the 2017 meeting in Woods Hole are:

1. State-space vs. traditional models
2. Internal vs. external stock recruitment
3. Appropriate level of model complexity
4. Selectivity as part of management advice

The ongoing research is organized on the GitHub site of the ICES Methods Working Group (https://github.com/ices-eg/MGWG). If we get many participants this year, we could perhaps add one more project during the meeting in Ispra, depending on the background and interests of new participants. We are especially interested in topics that bring together and compare a wide range of approaches, methods, and datasets.

To register, please email Maria Lifentseva ([email protected]) and me to let us know you are attending the 2018 meeting. I will be following up with an email about logistics in Ispra.

Feel free to forward the invitation to those you think might be interested.

All the best,
Arni

Doodle poll

Having met in Woods Hole (USA) in 2017, we may have the 2018 meeting in Southern Europe, to keep a balance between east and west, north and south :)

If we aim for the autumn, the NOAA fiscal year means September is good, and the ICES ASC (24-27 Sep) means late September may not be a good time for the Methods WG meeting.

Can we meet in the first or second week of September, 3-7 Sep or 10-14 Sep? Please indicate and comment in the Doodle poll above.

(13 Nov 2017)

Please join me in an Adobe Connect Meeting.

Meeting Name: ICES Methods Group Summary: ICES Methods Group meeting Monday - Friday Invited By: NEC.B Connect ([email protected]) When: 11/13/2017 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM Time Zone: (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Conference Number(s): (877) 653-6612 (toll free) +1 517 600 4840 (toll; for international callers) Participant Code: 8116908

To join the meeting: https://noaast.adobeconnect.com/icesmethods/

(9 Nov 2017, updated 11 Nov)

Welcome to Woods Hole! The meeting will be held in the Stephen H. Clark conference room located in the Aquarium building (see https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/woodshole/directions.html). The meeting hours will be 9-5 from Monday to Thursday and 9-4 on Friday.

The first day to arrive, please check in at the front desk of the Fisheries Main Building. You will only need to check in once for the week. If you drive, you'll be given a parking pass to put in your car. Parking is quite limited at the lab, so please car pool if at all possible. There are bike racks in front of the Aquarium if you decide to bike.

Door code, wireless, and lunch information will be provided at the meeting. Conference line and webex information for remote participants will be posted separately.

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Legault ([email protected]). Non-US citizens, please see the post regarding required information - thank you.

(3 Nov 2017)

The US government has rules regarding foreign national guests participating in workshops that NOAA hosts. Please don't shoot the messenger, but Chris Legault will need the following information for all non-US citizens participating in the ICES Methods WG meeting November 13-17.

Could you please send the information to Chris either via email or by fax (508-495-2393). If you send a fax, please send an email letting him know you sent it so he can easily confirm its receipt.

1. Name (First, Middle, Last) as written on passport

2. Your affiliation (name of your company, academic institution, government, or nonprofit org)

3. Gender

4. Date of birth (mo, day, year)

5. Country of birth

6. Country of citizenship

7. Country of current residence

8. Country of permanent residence (home country)

9. Dual Citizenship? (If yes, need info regarding both countries)

10. Passport number

11. Country of passport

12. Phone number

Sorry for the bureaucratic hassle. Please ask if you have any questions.

(3 Nov 2017)

A few places people usually stay are:

• Coonamessett Inn

• Inn on the Square

• Holiday Inn

There are also a number of Bed & Breakfasts.

(21 Oct 2017)

Chris Legault recommends taking the Peter Pan Bus to get from the airport (Boston Logan) to Woods Hole. The bus departs the airport every two hours, the last one at 19:20. The journey takes around 2.5 hours:

Boston  Woods
Logan   Hole
09:20   11:45
11:20   13:45
13:20   15:45
15:20   17:45
17:20   19:45
19:20   21:45

See page 20 in https://peterpanbus.com/wp-content/uploads/Peter-Pan-Timetable-9-27-2017.pdf#page=20 for details.

(18 Oct 2017)

Just a quick update on the upcoming ICES Methods working group, meeting in Woods Hole 13-17 November.

At the meeting, we will identify paper-size topics that are well suited to analyze and write as teams. When we decide during the meeting which topics will be pursued by the Methods working group, we will consider things like:

1. Is this topic important for many stock assessment scientists?

2. Is there another working group already working on this topic?

3. How can this be structured into the format of a medium-size journal paper?

4. What kind of work is required, and how much work?

5. Do we have a suitable number of participants that would like to analyze and write this together?

6. Who would like to lead this group and what will the role of coauthors be?

So I'm hoping that we will discuss many potential topics during the meeting (and a bit before and after the meeting). Once we have selected the topics, we will move them to https://github.com/ices-eg/mgwg and follow the progress to manuscript submission.

Since many of you cannot make it to the meeting this year, we will make an effort to involve people in the discussion remotely. I will send another update in the next couple of weeks when we have an online wiki, to coordinate the discussion and decide on video conferencing times and format during the meeting. Until then, feel free to send me ideas that I can put on the initial wiki to get the discussion started.

Those of you who are coming to Woods Hole 13-17 November, please confirm with Chris Legault [email protected] and me, so we can choose a suitable meeting room, get hotel recommendations, etc.

(19 Sep 2017)

Dear stock assessment experts,

The brand new ICES Methods Working Group will be meeting 13-17 November 2017 in Woods Hole, and you are invited to attend!

As the Chair of the new WG, my goal is to bring together the best stock assessment modellers from Europe, North America and elsewhere, to do good science and have fun together. As a group, we will decide for ourselves which research topics to pursue. The only message from the ICES leadership to the group is: aim high and publish your findings.

The objectives of the working group are:

1. Develop and improve stock assessment models and techniques

2. Leverage the international scope of the WG to analyze many models and datasets

3. Publish multi-author papers related to stock assessment

The focus will mainly be on single-species models, diagnostics, forecasts, uncertainty, statistical techniques, innovations, etc.

Specific objectives of this first meeting of the new Methods WG are:

• Identify main research topics

• Form teams

• Formulate papers to publish

We will be especially interested in topics that bring together and compare a wide range of approaches, methods, and datasets.

I realize that 13-17 November is very close, and I apologize for the short notice. If you are interested but unable to attend this first meeting, do not despair: the Methods WG will meet annually and the 2018 meeting will be announced with proper notice. Furthermore, feel free to participate remotely by proposing research topics and shape the ideas that will continue to develop.

We can start some brainstorming in the weeks before the meeting, but at this point I want to invite you to participate in the ICES Methods WG. Feel free to forward the invitation to those you think might be interested. Registration is simple, just send me an email!

All the best,

Arni