MP Implementation – schedule of activities

As identified in the endorsed Schedule of Work for the Development of Management Procedures,
the IOTC may select and adopt a Management Procedure (MP) for Bigeye Tuna in 2022, to provide
science-based Total Allowable Catch recommendations to the Commission in 2023. A clear
understanding of the timing of aspects of the process and endorsement of the schedule of
activities is required for successful implementation of the adopted MP. This document outlines a
proposal for the schedule of activities, the timing and responsibility for flow of information in each
step, and clarifies the role of the MP, operating models (OMs) and the stock assessment once an
MP is adopted. It is good practice for the MP decision making year (when the MP is run to provide
a TAC recommendation) to be offset from the year in which an assessment of stock status is
conducted, so that these two processes remain distinct. This outline of the process also provides
information on the time period (i.e. lag) between data exchange and TAC advice.