Exhibit F:

Abstract

Dr Kevin Hill discussed the 2004-2005 Pacific mackerel harvest guideline (HG) with the SSC. The recommended HG is 13,268 mt based on the maximum sustainable yield control rule in Amendment 8 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) fishery management plan. The SSC notes that the HG is based on the same stock assessment methodology and harvest control rule used in several previous years, with the addition of one additional year of catch data, and new or revised data for four of the six indices of abundance. Over-estimation of biomass for the last year of the assessment period is a chronic feature of the Pacific mackerel assessment. For example, the biomass estimate for 2003 based on the 2004 assessment (46,121 mt) is lower than the estimate of this biomass based on the 2003 assessment (68,924 mt). The estimate of biomass for 2003 is higher than that for 2002 due primarily to the large 2001 recruitment.